Condit Dam detonation releases the White Salmon River

By Linda Mapes
The Seattle Times

With a massive charge of TNT detonated at the base of Condit Dam, the White Salmon River roared back to life Wednesday,

Penned up and drowned under a reservoir since the 125-foot-tall dam was completed in 1913, the White Salmon quickly found its natural channel. Engineers had predicted it could take up to six hours to drain Northwestern Lake, which covered 92 acres and stretched 1.8 miles upstream. But the river was free flowing within two hours of blasting through a drain tunnel at the base of the dam at 12:11 p.m. Read More