On Wednesday, a day when nearly a foot of snow in Clark County caused wrecks, closed schools and government offices and kept many at home, Tim Ullom was on the snowy roads looking to lend a hand.
Typically, Ullom, 25, would be at his job as a sheet metal worker. But with the day off because of the snow, he cruised the highways, streets and hills in and outside of Vancouver looking for stuck motorists who slid off the slippery roads.
“I don’t see how someone could just leave someone in the ditch,” said Ullom.
Wearing a camouflage skullcap, a weathered Dickies work jacket and a tidy goatee, he steered “the El Grande,” his 1998 Jeep Cherokee Grande that seemed to float through the snow with its 4 1/2 -inch Rough Country Suspension Lift Kit, set of beefy Toyo Mud Terrain tires and V-8 engine.
It’s his “family fun car,” and in the backseat, his 1-year-old daughter, Mia, cooed interestedly, his 4-month-old son, Colton, dozed and his wife, Paige, worked her smartphone checking “4×4 recovery SW Washington,” a Facebook page where stuck drivers can post requests for help that are responded to by people like Ullom.
The group 4×4 recovery SW Washington was started last year by Vancouver resident Jaccob Heath, after he watched on Facebook as distressed drivers’ calls for help on Larch Mountain were answered and figured a local page on the social network could aid similar situations. Since then, it’s grown to nearly 900 members who are willing to lend their built-up trucks and Jeeps to help drivers stuck in snow, ice or mud.
“It’s just about coming together as a community and helping each other out,” said Heath, 24. “And, of course, the guys like to have fun in their rigs, as well.”
Growing up as close friends in Vancouver, Ullom and Heath took to the back hills learning to drive in craggy terrain. Ullom said that while growing up, his father taught him to drive in the snow and to help people stuck on the side of the road, even though he might have a chuckle at their predicament later.
Heath, who works as a foreman at a construction company, said that the page is often used by people stuck in the back hills or snow and get enough of a signal on their smartphones to post to 4×4 recovery SW Washington asking for help.
Ullom said the page is used by members to trade tips and show off photos of rigs “built up beyond belief.” Neither were sure how many recoveries the page has helped facilitate, but Ullom said he’s participated in about 40.
After helping a group of people push a car out a parking lot, Ullom continued scouring the streets of Vancouver while his wife strained to hear him over the rattle of the chains, ratchets, and other tools stashed in the cargo area.
“God, I really want to try pulling a bus,” he said.
After hours of driving around, a call came in from a woman whose car was stuck in a ditch off of an onramp to Interstate 205. After some confusion over her exact location, Ullom found the old, beat-up Ford stuck in a ditch and its owner, Andrea McGinty, who ambled along the side of the slushy highway toward it.
“Do you think you guys can get it out?” McGinty called out.
“I think I can,” replied Ullom, who connected a chain attached to the hitch on his Jeep to the stuck vehicle.
“OK,” said Ullom, his hands greasy and cold, climbing into his Jeep. “Let’s fire it up.”
The tires on the Jeep spun and spit dirt and snow as it pulled the Ford back onto the highway.
“Gotta love that V-8,” he said.
After the recovery, Ullom picked up Heath from his house where he dropped off his family. The two were off to answer another call. A tree had fallen and flattened a woman’s car, and she was having trouble finding someone willing to pull it off.
The two have discussed expanding the page’s mission to helping homeless people or other community needs. But in the meantime, as long as there’s snow on the ground, they’ll be checking the Facebook page.
