BY COREY BUCHANAN

Last February ’ s ice storm was certainly a week to remember — or forget .

During a storm that pervaded the area starting Feb . 11 , 2021 and worsened in the ensuing days , dislodged trees lay strewn like split banana peels along Charbonneau Golf Club fairways , limbs blocked roadways or fell onto homes , power remained dormant for three days and icy roads ensured a slick surface for drivers .

All in all , the ice storm downed 72 street trees in the Charbonneau community and many dozens more along parks and the golf club , according to the Wilsonville government . The damage cost local organizations many thousands of dollars and many hours of time to clean up the mess , among other repercussions .

“ It seems kind of surreal right now ,” Charbonneau Country Club property manager Rick Schram said . “ Where we ’ re at right now compared to a year ago , I would not want to go through that again . It was not fun .”

Despite the tumult , the Charbonneau community banded together to make sure vulnerable members stayed safe and helped clean up the massive amounts of debris afterward . And since then , they ’ ve learned lessons that will better prepare the community for potential future disasters .

Golf course

Lined with hundreds of trees , Charbonneau Country Club golf courses bore the brunt of the ice storm and needed months of cleanup .

After first laying eyes on the aftermath of the storm , Charbonneau Golf Club Board member Perry Esterson felt overwhelmed by the work that needed to be done .

“ We ’ re trying to start picking up the debris and were out there for several hours and thought , ‘ This is going to take forever .’ That was barely one fraction of one hole ,” he said .

Along with the golf club hiring contractors to conduct clean-up efforts , members of men ’ s and women ’ s golf clubs in the community spent threeto-five days a week cleaning up debris . Though falling limbs were a regular occurrence , Perry said no one was hurt .

“ We probably got the golf course playable again months before it would have been if left just to the crews and course ,” he said , adding that , “ I ’ ve said frequently that I ’ m amazed no

one got hurt to my knowledge . There were certain trees where you had big limbs just hanging there .”

CCC Operations Manager Chris Bensel remarked regarding the help the club received from community members :: “ It was one of the coolest things I ’ ve ever seen .”

Chris added that contractors with the name Monkey Men climbed up trees to remove dangerous limbs for months after the storm .

“ It was pretty awesome watching them ,” he said .

Overall , the golf club spent $ 330,000 on clean-up efforts . On the bright side , the storm did not pass through during peak golfing season .

“ We were in much much better financial shape since we sold the driving range and COVID led to a big uptick in rounds of golf . The good news was it ( the ice storm ) was in February , which is a low time for rounds ,” Chris said .

The city of Wilsonville counted 72 street trees in Charbonneau that were lost due to the storm .

COURTESY PHOTO

For Perry , playing golf again for the first time after the course reopened was immensely satisfying .

“ It felt great . The fact that many many of us were out there looking at piles and piles of trees , to see that stuff gone , come back out and be able to play , it was really gratifying ,” he said .

HOA challenges

Steve Chinn , the property manager for Charbonneau Homeowners Association and the Fairway Village Condominium Association , recalls not being able to even enter Charbonneau from SW French Prairie Road in the immediate hours after the storm . And in one case , a tree lodged into the living room of one Charbonneau homeowner .

“ In the same complex , it wiped out the pergola for a home next to that . It

See STORM / Page 5

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