That night will never be forgotten, and now there’s an award to honor it.

It was the second day of the new year, 2009, when the rains came,
accompanied by high water and rapid snow melt, and the water had nowhere
to go and roads turned to rivers on the Mountain.

Fire Chief Mic Eby was vacationing on the Oregon coast at the time,
“enjoying” howling 90 mph winds, and didn’t get back to assist his crews until
Jan. 3.

“We call it the ‘big night,’” Eby said. “I returned just in time to get stuck on
Lolo Pass on my way to a house fire.”

Trees were down in front of him and a power pole dropped behind him. Local
homeowners came to his rescue.

“They brought out their chain saws to cut me out,” Eby said. “They were like
little beavers.”

Hoodland Fire, which normally responds to one or two calls a day, received 21
calls in 24 hours during the big night.

“It was non-stop action for 24 hours to be sure,” Eby said. “It probably went
on for more like 72 hours.”

The Oregon Fire Chiefs Association presented Hoodland Fire with a Unit
Citation for service above and beyond their normal responsibilities to their
community. State Fire Marshal Randy Simpson and OFCA President Mark
Prince handed out the citation.

That Jan. 2 both the Sandy and Salmon Rivers overflowed their banks,
flooding driveways and basements. Log jams upriver on national forest lands
released more waters and mud to already overflowing rivers.
It was considered a 100-year flood event.

A historical house on the mountain had 40,000 gallons of water in the
basement. With heavy snow, there was the additional problem of where to
pump the water to once it was removed. The innovative Hoodland crew used
the deck gun to shoot the water over the house and back into the river.
Another family was walked out through waist-high waters.

During those rescues, the rest of the Hoodland heroes had two large mud
slides, one of which closed all four lanes of Hwy. 26 – the only access to
ambulance and mutual aid assistance.

There were also two road washouts, making it a challenge to reach some
parts of the community.

Firefighters had to snowshoe through snow for a mile in the rain. With two
motor vehicle crashes with injuries, water problems with sandbagging and
seven bridges being monitored for high water damage, the Hoodland crews
definitely had a big night.

On the heels of the storm came 85 mph winds. Due to water-soaked ground,
trees fell into houses and through power lines, putting most of the Mountain in
darkness. Trees were down, blocking roads which had to be cleared in order
to reach homes.

Rescuers, dodging falling trees, performed first aid on injured residents. This
is when Eby had his route blocked and had to be logged out.

With a core group of four career firefighters and 16 volunteers, the local
responders earned the unit citation.

Eby also pointed out the volunteer sandbagging efforts of Explorer scouts on
the Mountain’s big night.

Explorers Jeff Wilent, Jonathan Skipper, Trevor Rath and Caitlin Jarvis are
being given district citations for their volunteer work.