Commentary
A lull in the storms brings a snow-day feel to Duluth
Lucie Amundsen, a Duluth writer and graduate student, is a source in MPR News' Public Insight Network.
Living on Lake Superior, one sees the dark storm clouds rolling in for miles. I was observing that just last night, as I stood on the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge — having escaped from the "Mom Chair" at the Canal Park climbing gym my daughter attends. That's when the sheets of rain began. Sixteen hours and nine inches of water later, it still hasn't stopped.
The thunderclaps have been the kind I feel in my fillings — sharp and all too near. Accompanied by disembodied shouting in the dark, flashing lights and car alarms, we got little sleep in my typically dull neighborhood in Duluth's Central Hillside. "Up the hill," locals call it.
I am lucky. While I've been emptying my dehumidifier on the hour, a friend down the way has 30 inches of sewer water in her basement. But the real excitement is on the street.
Daybreak on my deck revealed a spot where the creek had washed away part of the iconic Skyline Parkway. A blue Toyota with Washington plates was sunk a good six feet into the ravine and quickly attracted gawkers like me.
Naomi, my alley neighbor, had brought the hapless motorists into her sun porch last night. Holding court this morning at the sinkhole, she regaled us with the details. We all leaned in to learn that they are tourists from Seattle here for last weekend's marathon. They have some nebulous family connection to Duluth. Most importantly, they are not hurt.
Other neighbors selflessly stayed up through the night, directing people away from the hazard. It took overwhelmed emergency crews hours to drop orange cones around the hole.
In the lull of heavy rain, we've been doing what neighbors do — gathering, chatting and comparing notes. "Did the seals from the zoo really crest over their enclosure and onto Grand Avenue? Did you hear the creek by the co-op on Fourth Street broke through the old retaining wall? Did you know both footbridges in Chester Bowl are washed out?"
That last one stings. I hike through the park several times a week, and one of those bridges my children and I have named the Fairy Bridge. We visit there often to build houses for the little people from bark and rocks and flowers, despite being too old for such folly. But it's the kind of place, with pine needle pathways and old wooden trusses, that lulls one into thinking anything is possible.
I suspect the snow-day feel will begin to wane soon. The heavy rains have started again and my teeth sense more thunder on the way. Soon I will put on my chore boots and head over to help the friend down the street with the standing sewer water, because that's also what neighbors do.
Comments (9)
Thinking of you, your family, mine, and all of our friends and neighbors.
What a lovely post in the midst of a rather frightening event. I had to drive in for jury duty this morning, fording streams, I mean streets, and avoiding the debris and sinkholes along the way. If you didn't believe in global warming before, surely this "weather event" confirms it.
What dear Lucie didn't mention was that she cranked out this piece and then went to said neighbor and hauled soggy belongings out of the basement for a couple of hours. Now the neighbors are at her house showering and headed to another house for pizza, sent by another neighbor. Duluth is truly an amazing place to live.
Hi Lucie,
Thank you for mentioning me, but I just sat in the porch, our neighbor, Matt, was out there directing traffic and making sure other cars didn't follow the same demise. There were other people I had never met before who were directing traffic too. One man, a regular citizen, in a red pickup drove to the MNDOT building on Rice Lake Road to get orange cones to put around the sinkhole. I was so scared that another car was going to fall in that I couldn't sleep. The police came, looked at it and left. So I called 911 to ask what we were supposed to do. They said that Public Works would come and barricade it eventually. I watched the car every 10 minutes. The headlights were shining straight up to the sky, but otherwise it was sooo dark. Finally at about 4 a.m. the headlights gave out. The people who had been in the car were visiting from Seattle, the man had graduated from a Duluth high school and his brother was also with him. (I think he is still a Duluthian.) The care belonged to the woman. The trip to Duluth was a college graduation celebration for the woman which included running Grandma's Marathon.
Even though we've been up for 24 hours now pumping water out of our basement reading Lucie's column gives me that old humble feeling so typical in Duluth: "Well; others have it much worse than we do...back to work!"
Lucie, thank you for personalizing what might otherwise be "just another news item" for those who don't live in Duluth. I thought of you and yours often today and hope the forecast rain is less than predicted. I look forward to a trip to Chester Bowl when we visit Duluth; perhaps a guided tour by Milo and Abbie, showing a new location for fairy gardens, would be possible!
This is why Duluth is a cool place to live: we really care about each other, whether it's helping pull cars out of ditches or staying up all night, to make sure drivers don't go into a sinkhole.
I can't say enough good things about Duluth. It is a physically beautiful city for sure and, as evidenced by this flooding event and the resulting response by her citizens, a city filled with beautiful people. Fly high ( and dry) Duluth!
Yep. Sounds just like my home town. Nice job, Lucie!
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