Washaway Beach | "We don't own the land; we're just guests here"

The last year, just like the last century, has not been kind to the old fishing town of North Cove.

As summer drew to a close, we checked in on Washaway Beach, where a century-long assault by the Pacific Ocean has consumed the town and a mile-long spit. The stretch of land is believed to be the fastest-eroding beach on the Pacific Coast, losing 65 feet a year on average since the late 1880s.

The fall offered no respite. A vicious storm earlier this month took down five more residences and a roadway along Washaway Beach.

But that could prove a blessing in disguise for the community, at the north end of the mouth of Willapa Bay. A federal disaster declaration from the storm appears to include Washaway Beach. That could mean some property owners, who have long assumed their property is doomed by the sea, would be eligible for emergency aid of up to $28,800 apiece.

Erika Langley, a Seattle photographer with a beach cabin at Washaway, said the recent storms have left debris ranging from stray shoes to appliances to entire mobile homes. One home has slid down the bluff.

The state Department of Ecology has found the beach elevation has dropped up to 5 feet over the year, and that could mean next year's storms will be even more damaging.

"It's a very vivid reminder of our place in nature," Langley said. "We don't own the land; we're just guests here."

— Jonathan Martin