'When one of us grieves, we all grieve': Longview vigil honors Nippon victims
The Longview community is mourning after a chemical tank failed at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company early Tuesday and claimed the life of two people, injured nine and left nine others missing.
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Hundreds gathered at R.A Long Memorial Park at 8 p.m. after an evening press conference with local, state and federal officials, including Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson. There, first responders explained the scene was now a recovery mission, not a rescue.
Ferguson and Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez, D-Skamania, also attended the vigil, along with other local officials.
Adults and children brought candles, left flowers, prayed and cried near the gazebo at the Longview park in reaction to the chemical spill that released an estimated 500,000 gallons of a caustic mixture known as white liquor, used to make paper products.
Vigil at R.A. Long Park
Candles and flowers lay near the gazebo at R.A. Long Memorial Park during a vigil hours after a tank failed at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company on Tuesday, May 26, in Longview.
Recovery efforts were halted overnight as crews worked to stabilize the damaged tank.
Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue Chief Scott Goldstein said an estimated 90,000 gallons of liquid remained in the tank as of Tuesday evening, but it was later determined to be no more than 25,000 gallons.
Bethany Girard, 32, of Longview, came to the vigil to lend support to those affected. She said her boyfriend had lost someone close to him in the spill.
Many people had received "news that no one wants to hear," she said.
Barbra Flowers, 69, of Longview, said she works in the Nippon finance department. After the spill, she said workers were told they could leave if they felt it was the right thing to do.
Her building was not near the damaged tank, she added.
"All I heard was people are missing," Flowers said about the first reports given at the mill along the Columbia River.
Community in mourning
Attendees circle around the gazebo at R.A. Long Memorial Park during a vigil hours after a chemical tank failed at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company on Tuesday, May 26, in Longview.
Former Longview Mayor Spencer Boudreau emceed the vigil, which included religious leaders such as Mario Gambaro of the Cowlitz Chaplaincy and Mark Schmutz of Northlake Church.
"We are here tonight because we care," said Shmutz. "We are here tonight because we are connected, we are here this evening because when one of us grieves, we all grieve."
He was later joined by another person to sing Amazing Grace.
Boudreau emphasized the impact the spill has on the community.
"We all felt this loss today," he said. "We're all affected by this."
He also asked the crowd to give a round of applause for the first responders.
R.A. Long Park vigil
Attendees circle around the gazebo at R.A. Long Park during a vigil hours after a chemical tank failed at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company on Tuesday, May 26, in Longview.
Sam Sanden, of Fathers House Church, asked people to unite after the crisis.
"Let us look beyond our differences, opinions, ideas, values," he said, "(and) come together to comfort one another and to stand together side-by-side to be a shoulder for one another to cry on."
Vigil
Diana Winther, left, and Kellie Webber, embrace in a hug during an evening prayer and vigil at R.A. Long Park in Longview, Wash., on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. The vigil was held in support for the victims and their families impacted by Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. tank failure.
Kaeden Beck
Kaeden Beck, 16, lays down electric candles during an evening prayer and vigil at R.A. Long Park in Longview, Wash., on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. The vigil was held in support of the victims and their families impacted by the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. tank failure.
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