Flood damage not as bad as feared

BY POLLY KEARY, Editor

The floods that struck the Sky Valley early last week weren’t nearly as bad as officials had feared, but things still got plenty wet. At noon Wednesday, county officials were anticipating flood levels near those of 2006, deemed at the time a flood-of-the-century.

“Along the Skykomish River near Gold Bar, flood stage is 15 feet. We’re expecting above 22 feet,” said Christopher Schwarzen, spokesman for the county executive’s office, speaking from a Department of Emergency Mangement site near Everett Wednesday morning. “That is close to the 2006 flood level.”

Residents along Tualco Loop Road, Tester Road and 164th/Ben Howard were urged to evacuate, and about 130 animals from low-lying farms were transported to safety at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds.

About 300 residents between Monroe and Duvall all got an automated call at once Wednesday morning. “Prepare to evacuate,” a pre-recorded message said.

Residents of Sultan, Gold Bar and Index lined up in the rain along the river bank to fill and stack sand bags to hold back the river.

Streets in Index, Gold Bar, Sultan and Monroe, including part of Blueberry Lane in Monroe, 399th Street in Gold Bar, and four blocks of Sultan’s downtown, were closed due to blocked storm drains and rising floodwater.

Sultan School District closed down at 10:30 a.m. to allow parents to get kids home before the brunt of the flooding hit, and staff was also dismissed for the day. Later in the day, Snohomish County Executive declared a state of emergency for the county, meaning that the county could access more help from the state and the Army Corps of Engineers if need be.

The Skykomish River was expected to reach a peak at 4 p.m. with the Snohomish River following suit at about 10 a.m. Thursday morning. Emergency officials feared a crest near the 23.5 foot crest reached in 2006, a flood that cost about $20 million in damages in the river system.

But in spite of heavy rains, damages were much less than some feared. Part of that was due to a break in the weather; the Skykomish crested at 19 feet at about 1 p.m., two feet lower than meteorologists had feared. And the snow pack on the mountains wasn’t as big as it had been in 2006, meaning less meltwater to add to the heavy rain.

Another reason damages were lower than anticipated was more preparedness on the part of residents and governments. A new process in Sultan increased efficiency, said the mayor. “For the first time in Sultan, there was an actual command post, we're proof that it works,” she said. “Everyone knew what every one was doing. We are ready for the next one. That’s what it amounts to.”

The community pitched in quickly and aggressively, with school kids joining a large team of volunteers to sand bag the downtown, while others handed out everything form hamburgers and soup to hot chocolate.

About a dozen homeless people living along the riverbank near Sultan got out early too, sparing the county the rescue operations commonly performed in that area during floods.

This year was the first time the Department of Emergency Management sent out a robo-call to people living in areas at risk of flooding, and the experiment was a success, DEM officials said.

In all, rescues were few in number. One Sultan family needed rescue when they waited too long to leave their mobile home; another couple was rescued from a car on Ben Howard Road. A family in Gold Bar was evacuated by inflatable kayak from a mobile home threatened by the Wallace River.

The DEM closed emergency operation centers at noon Thursday. But not everyone averted damage. One Sultan man said he lost 12 feet of river bank from in front of his Sultan River home. “The river is going to take my house,” he said.

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