Forks Washington on the Olympic Peninsula

Forks has received 12-14 inches of snow causing school closures all week and getting around has been difficult.

Here are a few images of Forks showing this Winter Wonderland.

Don't miss a gala evening sponsored by the Forks Chamber of Commerce, which benefits the Visitor Information Center.

The evening includes a silent auction, wine & beer tasting along with soft drinks and snacks. Music is also included along with some great socializing while you are placing your bids on some unique items.

Cost is $10 per person which includes two drinks. Another highlight of the evening are awards given to the Citizen, Volunteer and Business of the Year for Forks. This year the theme is "Just say cheese..."

Winners from left to right: Willard Quinn (Bainbridge Island) 32.4 lb Chinook; Tom Torgeson (Fox Island) 31.9lb Chinook; Brian Short (Kingston) 28.3lb Chinook; Steve Brower (Forks) 12.9lb Coho; Don Sandstrom (Spokane) 12.4lb Coho; Wilson Easton (Port Angeles) 16.1lb Coho; Gary Keenan (Tracyton) 15.2lb bottom fish.
The Last Chance Salmon Derby was held on October 1st & 2nd at La Push. This fun event is co-sponsored each year by the City of Forks, the Forks Chamber of Commerce and the Quileute Tribe.

The Derby was well attended with 105 tickets sold.  The weather forecast wasn’t favorable early in the week so that probably kept some fishermen away.  The waves weren’t as bad Saturday as they were predicting, but still bad.  Sunday was calmer but colder and it did not rain which was most helpful.  As far as the leader board went, Wilson Easton stayed on top the whole time.  He and his dad, Dave Easton brought the first two fish in, the elder Easton with a Chinook.  They were the first two on the board.  The fish came in slow and steady and the leader board kept changing.  At one time a young lady, McKenna Minnoch (9 years old) was on the board with a coho.   She was presented with a special “Sportsman” award.

It was dramatic towards the cutoff on Sunday when Tom Torgeson brought in a Chinook at 11:59 knocking off the third place and putting him in second place.  The derby ended at noon on Sunday.

At the end of the derby there was a great drawing for ticket holders with many great donations from our sponsors and local merchants. It was most fortunate that the weather and current cooperated well enough that the derby went as planned without any cancellations or curtailments. Congratuations to this year's winners!

Forks just had a phenomenal Old-Fashioned 4th of July celebration. The weather was perfect...no rain and 80 degrees! It was a rare day due to the dry weather with record attendance at the parade. The parade was one that was full of color. Summer is here in Forks!

Forks High School entrance (LEFT PHOTO) - Summer 2010 Forks High School entrance (RIGHT PHOTO) (facade) torn down June 20, 2011

Forks High school is currently being rebuilt where the 1925 building once stood. The 1925 structure had been condemned and had not been in use for two years so most of it was torn down last summer (2010). Last week, the front entrance (facade) was removed to make way for the new structure. The new high school building will be completed by this coming late Fall of 2011.

If you are in Forks this Friday & Saturday, May 13th & 14th be sure to see the award winning live performance of Humble Boy that received rave reviews from it's first weekend of performances. This adult performance by the Rainforest Players is at 7:30 pm both evenings at the Rainforest Art Center, 35 North Forks Ave. (next to the traffic light intersection). It is a lively performance that reflects life in both a serious and humorous fashion. DON'T MISS IT!

There are many fishing opportunities in the Forks area. You can go fishing on some of the wild rivers here on the Olympic Peninsula or take a charter out for ocean fishing. For a list of fishing guides, click here.

Forks just experienced a very wet March! The total rain for the month was 21.04 inches. The average rainfall for Forks in March is 13.01 inches, so it was wetter than normal here in Forks.

Here are a few comments from certain days in March by Jerry King, local weather recorder: "1 inch of snow; damaging wind, hail and rain; hail and snow flurries, rain and windy; cloudy and showers; partly cloudy; windy and rain; thunder and heavy wind and rain; cloudy with light showers most of the day; cloudy with a few spits of rain; cloudy and rain all day; windy and heavy rain."

Of course this March was not the wettest March on record. That happened in 1997 when 29.42 inches fell. So the next time you feel bad about rain where you live, just think about Forks that gets on average 120 inches (10 feet) each year. Currently for 2011 (January - March), Forks has had 52.96 inches.

In preparation for the coming of Breaking Dawn, the Forks Chamber of Commerce has unveiled a new shirt in celebration. The "Breaking Dawn in Forks" t-shirt is available in two colors at the visitor center in Forks (1411 South Forks Ave.) and from the on-line store on the chamber website. The shirt is designed in similar native style to companion shirts also available at ForksVisitor Center and on-line store. Sales of items available at the Forks chamber help keep the visitor center open seven days a week!

The Quillayute Valley Scholarship Auction was another wonderful success here in Forks on March 19th & 20th. Over $60,000 was raised for scholarships for students. It took a huge coordinated effort on behalf of the community and those efforts paid off tremendously!

Sara Decker is auctioneer, while senior Taylor Morris looks on.