Teton flood survivor recalls harrowing experience

June 5th is a historic day in Eastern Idaho. It was this day back in 1976 that the Teton Dam collapsed, sending a wall of water downstream.

Shaun Orr was 7 years old at the time playing in his grandmother’s neighborhood.

“And we heard over the radio the dam had broke, and as a frightened 7 year old, I didn’t really know what that meant, and so I got on the phone and called my mother who was at work and she didn’t believe me at first and turned the radio on and heard that it had broke,” Orr said.

Orr’s mother immediately went to the grandmothers house to save some things and take the family to higher ground. His friends family arrived too and he wanted to go with them.

“And I kept pestering her and finally she gave in and said, fine., Orr said. “And I thought they were going to take us up on the hill, but they took us to the store downtown, their store.”

The store’s not there anymore, it’s a Taco Bell.

Orr explained to me that the owners grandfather had been in a flood here in the early 1900s and only a foot or two of water came through town. So they decided to just put a few sandbags around the store and watch.

“And as we sat there inside the building the police were coming through town and over the loudspeakers and they were asking people to evacuate the city, and I became very fearful, thinking I shouldn’t be here so I went to make a break for it and somebody grabbed my arm and held me back and said, hey they’re gonna see you. And as we sat there watching out the window the water hit. And I still remember today the power and force of that water as it hit the building and it completely covered the bay windows and we had complete darkness. All of a sudden the water started filling the building and it was picking up the refrigerator items, coolers and the water was starting to rise, and were in a panic not knowing if it would completely consume the building and crush us,” Orr said.

Huge logs swept up from the sawmill were crashing into the store like battering rams.

“I remember feeling the panic that we weren’t going to make it, and so went over to the corner by myself and I knelt down and I asked Heavenly Father to save my life, and that I wanted to live, and from that point in time I had the impression that everything was going to be OK,” Orr said.

Eventually the National Guard came and rescued everyone by boat. Many surrounding buildings were completely demolished. They discovered that miraculously their building had been saved from totally collapsing.

“The force of the water had blown open the doors into where we were staying and the water had shoved a John Deer tractor tire and a cow that had died in between one of the pillars and the wall and held the loft up that we were in.”

Thousands of homes and businesses were lost in the Teton flood. The rescue and rebuilding efforts are truly one of the inspiring events in Idaho history. Here’s a link to the in-depth 40 year anniversary report: http://www.localnews8.com/news/remembering-the-teton-dam-flood-40-years-later/80420205