Connie Rae has been a WSDOT maintenance worker for more than 20 years and has never seen anything like the storm that hit Monday morning.
Rae was called in at 10 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2, to monitor the highways in the Mt. Walker area. At 3 a.m. the storm hit full force. Rain fell heavily and Rae’s two-way radio chirped nonstop with reports of problems while she traveled in her truck. At about 6 a.m. Rae was heading north from Holiday Beach on US 101 where the road had closed because of a slide. She managed to make it to milepost 325, just north of Carroll Point, but couldn't get through. Fearing for her safety, Rae returned to Lilliwaup.
“This is the worst storm I’ve seen in my career,” said Rae. “I don’t normally get scared out on the road, but I was scared this time.”
All night slides happened around her while she sat in her truck. She stayed there until daybreak, fearing that she could be swept away by a slide. Eventually she moved to a wide area in the highway and other citizens joined her there, trying to avoid the slides.
Other WSDOT crew members cleared a single lane on the highway at about 1 p.m. and Rae and the other members of the public could drive to safety. Rae couldn't believe all the devastation around her. More trees were coming down as she tried to return to WSDOT’s maintenance yard. She was able to get to the yard and go home at 4 p.m.