Communities throughout Chelan County are preparing for more heavy rain, following an atmospheric river that passed through the Northwest last week. The National Weather Service estimates that approximately 1 to 5 inches of rain could fall in Chelan County through Wednesday. There are also concerns about rock and mudslides in places that are steep and near burn scars from wildfires.
A flood watch continues for cities in Chelan County and part of Okanogan County, including Wenatchee, Leavenworth and Cashmere. The National Weather Service also issued a blizzard warning, in effect from 2 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, for western Chelan County, including Stehekin.
There is also a high wind warning, lasting from Tuesday morning until Wednesday afternoon. The warning spans a large swath of the Northwest, from Eastern Washington to North Idaho.
Highway closure
U.S. Highway 2 is closed between Skykomish and Leavenworth. Mudslides left water and debris over the roadway from last week’s massive storms. Currently, US 97 and State Route 28 through Quincy are available for cross-state travel as alternative routes.
Lauren Loebsack, communications manager for the North Central Region at the Washington State Department of Transportation, said WSDOT does not have an estimated time when road will be open again.
“We’re getting reports of people crossing past the closure points. Right now, road closed means road closed,” said Loebsack. “There are several locations on that corridor that are going to need significant repairs, and we are in the process of initiating those emergency contractor relationships.”
Sgt. Jason Reinfeld, with Chelan County Emergency Management, said drivers should check roads before traveling.
“We have a storm in the next couple of days. It’s gonna bring a lot of water again. Unfortunately, it’s going to get windy as well. When we have high winds, stay off the roads as much as possible. We had a lot of trees come down, as well as power lines that made some roads pretty impassable and dangerous,” Reinfeld said.
Leavenworth impacts
On Saturday, power was restored in Leavenworth, Wash., after a massive power outage hit the town last Wednesday. The Bavarian-style tourist destination slowly reopened and is dealing with round two of bad weather.
The cleanup was horrendous. So many trees were down that, basically, most of our streets were impassable. Some people have basically had their homes destroyed or had such major damage that they’re unlivable.Leavenworth Mayor Carl Florea
"The cleanup was horrendous. So many trees were down that, basically, most of our streets were impassable. Some people have basically had their homes destroyed, or had such major damage that they’re unlivable,” said Leavenworth mayor Carl Florea. “The unknown is what’s gonna happen this week. We’re hoping and planning that we will be able to open.”
Florea said that December is one of the town’s busiest seasons. He said business owners were hit hard by the outage.
“The economic impact is huge because this is a prime time. We're known as Christmas Town, USA. We know that for our downtown businesses, it’s (when) a large chunk of their sales happen. Christmas is a huge time for retail in general … certainly, we’re no different,” Florea said.
Stehekin evacuation
Flooding and landslides have left communities along upper Lake Chelan — like Stehekin — dealing with major damage, more than a year after a wildfire left hillsides vulnerable to big storms like these.
Some people were unable to evacuated from the Stehekin Valley as damage from the atmospheric river blocked Stehekin Valley Road, leaving some people unable to access its boat launch. Stehekin is only accessible by boat or plane.
As of Monday, Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said nearly 40 people in the Stehekin Valley had been rescued from more than 20 homes. A shuttle ran people out to the airstrip to Purple Point, and a clipper ferry took people to shore along Lake Chelan.
"We're in a waiting pattern right now, the next couple weeks, as we're seeing that we're supposed to get more rain," Morrison said. "Then, trying to get a determination (of) what's that gonna do to our communities."
Residents asked to report damage
Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency in response to flooding throughout Washington. President Donald Trump approved that federal disaster assistance for the state.
Chelan County Emergency Management is advising people in Chelan County to fill out a Damage Assessment form to document damages. The county hopes that by documenting damages, FEMA will approve assistance for Chelan County residents.
The assessment, which is for both individuals and businesses, can be found here.
