Scenes like this one were not uncommon after the Palouse River receded and the damage was made visible. Colfax residents spent weeks cleaning up before a serious rebuilding effort could even begin. The damage was tremendous and piles of debris littered the streets and yards of homes. No building material was safe, even steel was bent and warped from the sheer power of the flood.

Image courtesy of Whitman County Rural Heritage.
http://www.washingtonruralheritage.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/whitman/id/1142/rec/9