LEWIS COUNTY, Wash. -- A year has passed since devastating floods struck the region. So much has changed, but in some ways, so much has yet to be done.

On Tuesday the Chehalis river sat below flood stage. But one year ago, the river didn't just overflow its bank. And signs seen around town still remind residents just how high the floodwaters reached.

Dil Griffith remembers having nowhere to escape but up.

"It would've been about eight feet of water where I'm standing now," Griffith said.

On Dec. 3, the Coast Guard rescued him along with more than 300 others. Record rainfall and new all-time-high flooding throughout the Chehalis River valley turned six counties into disaster areas. Twenty miles of Interstate 5 shut down for four days.

Once the floodwaters finally receded, Griffith returned to find nothing left from his home of 20 years. A year later, flood debris still covers a part of his yard.

"We still have bills to pay, so this is low priority," he said.

But Griffith now has a new home. A Boistfort Valley donated a used double-wide.

"I'm grateful for having a roof over our heads," Griffith said.

Throughout the Boistfort Valley, life goes on. The Curtis Store just reopened, rebuilt by a new owner.

"They were going to close the store and it was kind of sad, so Ben decided to buy it. He didn't want this. It was a landmark, you know," said Jill Basil.

Some things are gone for good, but the gratitude in the Boistfort Valley is likely to last a lifetime.

"I remember looking out the window and the water going past and thought, 'wow, this is going to take a couple of weeks.' This is going to take a couple of years," said Griffith.