Managing Weather
Having lived in the Orting Valley since 2002, we have managed animal health through a variety of weather conditions. Helping new clients navigate these weather challenges is part of our job. We've dedicated a page to give updates for current weather events, as well as a historical page for new clients to know how these weather conditions potentially affected The Ranch in the past.
Flood Watch December 2025
12/17 - Feeling very blessed with how well JB is handling the storms. Watching all of the devastation around the sound, we are blessed. The storms hit hard again last night. The wind took out the power around 1am. Thanksfully Brandon is a Jack of all trades and got the generators up and running to the barns and houses. We haven't turned on the well house generator yet, because all the animal waters are just fine! The animals are none the wiser, they think it is life as usual.
12/13 yesterday was nice and dry, and little sun and wind amd things are clearing nicely. The river continues to drop from the banks, and puddles on the ranch are almost gone! Holding ponds are full, but thats their job while the ground plays catch up. The levee roads held strong on our side of the river. The levee on the west side of the Puyallup gave way in one spot. The county is working tirelessly to fill the gap in that road. Our side of the Puyallup River is solid and strong... trails are still open and passable.
12/11 8pm : Over 6 inches of raim this week! I am so impressed with how our land handles the water. So thankful for such functional property. Brandon got the clogged drain ditch fixed right away, and water started flowing again! The River is even lower tonight! 12/11 8am update: River banks are still doing well behind and upstream from the ranch. Definitely lots of puddles, but the drain ditches are still flowing! We had one drain ditch clog on the south facility, so we are getting more run off on the main property at the back property line. But we are clearing that line this morning. The river looks much lower in the town of Orting too! Something is going right! Its still raining and things are looking better at the river.
Lots of Rain on Monday 12/08, but we are draining just fine! We have a strong history of handling the rains really well. Drain tiles help clear the water quickly! The river is pretty full, but still much lower than the levee road between The Ranch and The Puyallup River. Should the river spill over the levee, the old riverbed is the next stop behind The Ranch. So far, the old riverbed has just a little bit of water in places, but the trails are clear and passable. However, these animals are your babies! If you have a concern, give us a shout, and we can point you in the right direction!
Tuesday was a beautiful day, sunny with a light wind here or there. We are blessed with a break from the rain, it allowed the property to absorb and drain the groundwater. We have several holding ponds to collect excess water while the land works through the overload of water.
Tuesday night brought a new round of heavy rain, but by Wednesday morning our holding ponds were still at the same level, and the drain ditches were not nearly as full as Monday. The open drain ditches are not full, and still flowing. The underground drain ditches are still flowing fast at their outlet, and where they drain is not obstructed! We took come comparison photos behind the Ranch Tuesday morning, then again Wednesdsay morning. The river certainly came up, but there is still room to rise! South of the Ranch, behind the mill, the river is still well below the banks. Watching the radar and forecast, it looks like a lot of the heavy rain we expected shifted north. They are calling for heavy rain today (Wednesday) so we will stay vigilant. The new barn gutters have really helped direct the water runoff! Plus, the drain line cleaning Brandon did this fall has really paid off!
It's Wednesday afternoon and just took another drive around to see how the rivers are handling themsleves down stream. The rivers are certainly full, and causing issues in a lot of areas. 410 HWY is closed at Traffic Avenue in Sumner, it usually floods there. So Sumner is a mess will all the traffic being diverted thru Sumner.
​​3pm Wednesday and we are enjoying a break in the rain. Things are still draining well, preparing for the next round of rain. Horses are doing great.
Wednesday at 5 pm, and things are looking great. It's been a nice break in the rain, and the river has gone down. Took another stroll along the river and can see obvious signs of the waters receding. The rain is set to come back again this evening, but thankfully, the break allowed the waters to clear. Horses and cattle are all happily eating and enjoying their space.
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Past Flood Issues
Orting is typically in the spotlight when flooding occurs in the Pacific Northwest. We've managed The Ranch and Animals through many weather events. We can't say exactly how many flooding issues we've worked through, but we can say we've only experienced river flood water once in over 20 years, and it was inches in one small section (possibly 2 acres) of the property. Here is what we've experienced, and hope the information helps you feel more comfortable with our concerns of river flooding. Back in 1997, the county purchased or leased, lands from farmers living along the Puyallup River. This was done in order to create a Levee to help manage the flow of the Puyallup River and mitigate flooding in Orting. The levee did significantly help the town of Orting, but it didn't eliminate the town from flooding. JB Ranch sits higher in elevation than the town of Orting. Typically, when the town of Orting has flooded, JB Ranch has not experienced flooding. Yes, lots of moving ground water from rain, but not floodwater. Back in the flood of 1997, the property did experience floodwater, which was only a few inches along the west bank of the river. This was back when the trees & trails were the actual Puyallup River. The one time we experienced minimal flood water was back in 2008 when all 3 rivers circling the Orting Valley flooded! There was a voluntary, mandatory evacuation (interesting term use) of the Orting Valley. We did not leave, nor did we have enough water to necessitate evacuation. Local news stations were out every day, standing in any flooding areas, to highlight just how bad the flooding was! Of course, they were standing in all the areas that ALWAYS flood from poor drainage or water management. Some areas in our area always flood when rivers back up. For example... the fish hatchery, near the river in South Prairie, the VFW campground, the areas at the base of cemetery hill along the river, etc... There are some places we just know will get hit with standing flood water. During the flood of 2008, we also had to deal with the city water line which boarders Orville Road. For years the city water main had several leaks. The leaks were so bad, we didn't have to water the cattle through many summers! They just drank fresh city water from their water main leaks. When the 3 rivers flooded, Tacoma flooded, and Orting Flooded... we had some standing water along the front of the property. It was only in places, and still passable. One horse, who loves water, was standing in the water when there were plenty of places to stand! the news station of course, used this image to show how badly Orting was flooded! Yes, flooding can be bad and hit very hard. But the news usually looks for anything they can blow up and make look like a disaster.
You might wonder how often we deal with concerns of flooding. Every year they call for flood watch. Every few years, we hear flood warning. Once, since 2000, we experienced a small amount of floodwater and it caused us no harm nor impacted our operations. We can't say we will never experience damage from flood waters... but it isn't nearly as concerning as the News Stations make it out to be.
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Contact
If you have specific questions about current or past weather conditions, let us know!
253-232-5553