Scratchgravel Road (Josie Gray Mysteries #2)(81)

“We’ll be able to listen in and get a good look at the current flooding,” Diego said. “From where he’s flying, it’s almost two miles to the back lot where the metal barrels are stored. The two concrete silos are located in the back of the plant as well.”

One of the highway patrol officers asked, “What’s inside the silos?”

“They store radioactive waste materials.”

“And what if one of the silos is compromised?”

“Then the ground around the plant would be contaminated,” Diego said.

He turned to face Sylvia. “Do we have a live feed from the helicopter set up yet?”

Sylvia nodded and the still image was replaced with a live image of the mountain range being filmed during a downpour. As the helicopter flew in closer to the mountain, large fractures among the jagged boulders at the top of the peak became visible. Diego ran his finger down the length of the mountain. “This area below the peak is highly erodible, and the water has begun to funnel into this location from several areas on the mountain, dragging debris with it.”

Sandy walked back into the room and sat down by the phone at the end of the table. She said, “The pilot is on the line. I’ll place him on speaker so we can all hear his report.”

She looked at Diego, who nodded that he was ready.

“Michael?”

“I’m here.”

“Can you zoom in to the area that’s washing? Get up by the peak if you can. That’s where we’re most concerned.” She addressed the group again. “If we can make it through this rain without that area of the mountain giving way we’ll be fine. If it breaks loose we’ve got a real mess.”

Suddenly the view of the mountain tilted right and Josie felt as if the bottom fell out of the room. The pilot banked a hard right and circled around the mountain.

“I’m going to take you to the front of the peak so you can see the water coming down. It’s really flowing right now. More rock has broken loose since I was up here this morning.”

The picture on the screen enlarged, the mountain coming at them quickly as the pilot continued to describe the scene. Suddenly the rocks on the mountain came into focus, and Josie could see water rushing down at an alarming rate. The water was devouring the side of the mountain, washing away large chunks like sand. As the pilot flew down the slope it became obvious that other streams were being funneled toward the same path that converged on the valley floor.

Diego asked the pilot to pull the shot back and get a picture of the stream that was draining in the direction of the plant. “We’ve successfully diverted this water to the left of the plant. However, if we get a significant mudslide, the diversion won’t hold. We’ve been using concrete barriers in key places, but it’s just not enough.”

“It wouldn’t be enough to reinforce with additional barricades? Stretch it from the mountain down past the plant?” one of the officers asked.

“Mudslides have the ability to wipe out entire neighborhoods in a matter of minutes. There’s enough of a grade from the mountain to the plant that it could produce significant speed.” Diego pointed back to the screen. “You can see the lay of the land. See how the water funnels straight down that mountain, through the sandy stretch in the desert, and toward the plant? Those barriers are okay with the water, but if we lose a significant piece of that mountain, and pick up sand and mud from the foothills, the mud could flow heavily.”

Sandy nodded toward Mitch, who had been listening intently. “This is where Mitch comes into play. We’d like to lay a line of explosives that will blow a trench to divert the water flow from reaching the plant.”

One of the DOT officers asked, “Why hasn’t something been done before now to prevent this?”

“That wash wasn’t there before the peak started to crumble. This is all new erosion,” Diego said. He paused for a moment and steepled his fingers in front of his chest, gathering all eyes on him. “I’ll make one request of the group. After this incident is finished, you have my word, I will review the entire operation: what worked, what didn’t, what should have been done and wasn’t. For today though, I would request we focus on the events at hand. We don’t have the time to point fingers. Today, we work as a team to figure out answers.” He looked around the room and received head nods from everyone.

Diego cleared his throat. “We have a team setting up a decontamination area. They are consulting with FEMA as we speak. We’re approaching this proactively. God forbid, if part of the plant is taken out by the mudslide, if radiation is released into the environment, we’re prepared to handle the aftermath.”

Josie felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her lungs. A table filled with first responders, people trained to handle crisis, and they were all speechless, imagining their own nuclear nightmares.

“We’re at the unfortunate point of weighing our odds.” Diego looked at Sandy, who was not able to meet his eyes before he stood to break the room into working groups. Prepared or not, it was time to move.





TWENTY-TWO


Diego and Sandy assigned groups of officers to specific tasks. Diego had called in plant workers earlier that morning to remain on standby and they were now being put to work. A team of ten was surveying the metal barrels to determine their ability to withstand movement, and it was quickly determined that about a hundred of them on the front end of the lot were stable enough to handle a move. Scott led the DOT team and county maintenance around the site to establish transportation routes for evacuation and removal of the barrels. Next, they began the nerve-racking task of moving the barrels to a fleet of semi trucks that were also being equipped for radiation monitoring. Meanwhile, a team of five scientists from the EPA landed in a helicopter and was quickly briefed on the situation by Diego. Sandy took the Department of Energy team and the three highway patrol officers with her in a four-wheel-drive Excursion to check out the runoff in person. Josie was amazed at how well orchestrated the effort appeared. She gave credit to Diego’s leadership and started to believe the company’s outstanding reputation might be deserved.