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Mary & Clayton Cook
Summerwood Circle, Santa Clara
Written by Mary Cook
We lost our home and property to the Santa Clara River on January 11, 2005,
around 1:a30 pm. We were the first to have our home destroyed by
the flood. You must likely saw our home's demise on television many,
many times.
Our home was located in a new subdivision in Santa Clara. It was in a
small development called Summerwood, which is located south of the Santa
Clara Post Office. We were right next to the LDS Church orchard.
Our lot was a half-acre and it was lined with hugh trees.
You could not normally see or hear the river from our property. There
was a field and a farm directly below our property and adjacent to the
river. We were at the end of a street on a cul-de-sac.
It was here that we were building our dream home. It was a project
that had been in our hearts and minds for several years and we were
absolutely thrilled to be building it. The interior painting had been
done and the cabinets had just been installed. We were between 200-300
yards from and over 25 feet higher than the river. We thought we had
height and distance to keep us safe from a flood. We never considered
erosion, nor did anyone mention this possibility to us.
On Monday, January 10th, at 2:30 p.m., I checked our two older boys out of
elementary school to show them the river. We wanted them to
witness the flood. We planning on living in this home for a long time
and I thought they might never see the river like this again. At this
point, I was disappointed to see that so many trees had fallen into what had
become a fast moving river behind our property. The landscape was
changing and our view was going to be different. I also wondered if
the river would eventually go back to its original path or if it would
permanently take a new course. I never imagined what the scene would
be the following day.
On Tuesday, January 11th, Clayton and I arrived at our house around 8:00
am. We were shocked to see the location of the river. The river
had carved a new path leading directly to our home. the river had done
some devastating work during the night. Piles of debris had
forced the river completely away from its usual course and it was headed
straight for us. I started crying as soon as I saw it. I knew we
were in big trouble. The river was raging and making a shart "S" turn
right behind our home. Our property seemed to take the full force of
the river turning against the bank. Large chunks of earth were being
swallowed up into the river. We watched 20 feet erode in less than two
hours. We knew if it continued at that pace, we'd lose our
house. Our contractor contacted an excavation company early that
morning, but they said there was nothing they could do for us. We were
also informed that our contractor's insurance was not covered for floods.
There were workers in the home that morning. They were
prepping the floors for tile and a rock mason was laying rock inside.
It's as if people were in denial that we were really in danger. Our
contractor, John Chapman of Chapman Construction, had to tell them to stop
working and leave.
We were most grateful when a nice gentleman from our church approached us.
He suggested a prayer. We stood in our home's kitchen with our family
and friends in earnest prayer. It is a moment which will be forever
etched in my mind.
I, then, walked through the home with our video camera and recorded every
room. This was difficult. I was sobbing through the entire
process. I don't know when I'll be able to watch that footage. I
really don't need to. I can picture every inch of it in my mind.
I can still hear our footsteps as we walked up and down the stairs. I
can hear our boys running and playing in the house. I can see them
exploring all around boys' pond, a famous portion of the river to native
Santa Clarans.
At about 10:30 am we were told that we were no longer safe remaining in
the house.
We were told we had to leave. We stood to the side of the house in the
mud, shivering, cold, clutching umbrellas and watched the earth fall away
from our property. I willed it to stop. I wondered if there was
something we could be doing. Why isn't somebody trying to do
something. The earth was so unstable we knew nobody would come near
the edge with any type of heavy equipment. But still, were we
overlooking something? We were very much alone, other than a few
firefighters directing people to move back. This seems to be in stark
contrast to the other homes that were lost.
At about noon we were forced to evacuate from the entire street. We
relocated on Santa
Clara Heights where we could look down on our home. We were told that
our home was on TV and then watch the back section plunge into the river on
live television. It was sickening. We hurried to my
husband's parents town home in Green Valley where we had been living because
we were told that a bridge may be shut down and then we'd be displaced
from the town home. We watched the rest of the house fall on TV.
Unfortunately, we had to watch it over and over and over again for the rest
of the day on every channel. Our cable went out that evening so we
didn't see all of the national coverage it received, which was probably
best.
Our half-acre is entirely gone. It fell 25 feet down into the
river. The flood also encroached on the other empty lots and
into the cul-de-sac. Our home was set back 35 feet from the
cul-de-sac. You have to see it to believe it. You need to stand
on what is left of the cul-de-sac to fully comprehend what happened.
After revisiting the site the next day, we realized there was nothing we
could have done with such short notice on Tuesday morning to prevent this.
Now, the river has been routed back to its' original path. As you
stand near our property, you can't even see it. It's too small and too
far away.
Our property was not located within the 500-year flood plain or was it
adjacent to it.
The river simply took a new route that went right through our property.
In order to cope with this tragedy, we've had to concentrate on the
positives. We're grateful we hadn't moved into the house, and that
nobody was hurt. All of our belongings are safe in a storage
unit. Our hearts go out to those who lost everything.
Our future is uncertain. Our financial burden seems huge. I am
writing this at only ten days after the flood so we're scrambling to get
information. It's certain that this is going to test our patience.
We're fortunate to have so many family and friends to ffer their support.
We have truly been touched and surprised by the kindness and generosity of
so many. Our contractor tells us that many of the sub-contractors are
doing all they can to reduce their costs as well.
We're learning from this experience. We have to. It will make
us stronger and more compassionate. We hope we will have an
opportunity to "pay it forward" for somebody else who is in need someday.
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