Communities along upper Lake Chelan are beginning the slow work of recovery after flooding and landslides damaged roads, homes and access to routes, following an atmospheric river.
The Stehekin Valley
Stehekin is a remote community only accessible by boat or by air. Residents there have been working to remove mud and fallen trees from driveways and footpaths.
Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison described the area in “disarray,” with debris slides blocking Stehekin Valley Road. A National Park Service water treatment plant was destroyed, leaving some residents with little water.
About 100 people remain in the valley. Krissa Jester has been living in Stehekin for about a decade. When flooding hit hard last week, she went to check on the damage.
“By first light Thursday morning, it was time to assess damage,” Jester said. “My husband and I were walking down the road to our neighbors. We’re not reliant on technology. We communicated via radio to talk to people.”
Jester and her husband live about seven miles up Stehekin Valley Road, away from the lakeshore. She said flooding surrounded her cabin, but did not enter her home. Water ran several inches beneath the structure and across the yard. Other areas of the valley saw more severe impacts.
She said mudslides hit about the first quarter mile of the road along the lake shore. The heaviest flooding occurred closer to Lake Chelan in the Silver Bay area, where much of the community lives. Most cabins in the area saw standing water and damage to yards and access roads. One home across the Stehekin River on the Company Creek side suffered major damage, after about four feet of water flowed into the cabin, Jester said.
Despite the damage, Jester said residents are safe and are prepared for isolation. In the past, residents had to prepare for power outages, blizzards and intense wildfires. In 2024, the upper lake was hit by the Pioneer Fire, which burned nearly 40,000 acres. Many residents stayed back as fire crews managed the fire.
“ We as a community almost always have to take action first to make sure we can keep moving forward, and then working with those government entities. If we didn’t stay or if we waited around for government resources to come help us, we wouldn’t be here. It would be burned down. We’d have no roads. It’s not realistic for this community to leave our homes,” Jester said. “We’re very self-sufficient and resilient. People have food, water, generators and supplies.”
Some power has been restored in the Stehekin Valley. Some residents, including Jester, remain without electricity. Many are relying on generators, propane stoves, wood heat and wells for running water.
Jester said many residents chose not to evacuate, as leaving would mean abandoning homes, jobs and livelihoods in the community.
“When you order an evacuation here, people aren’t just leaving their houses,” Jester said. “They’re leaving absolutely everything.”
Holden Village evacuates
Flooding and mudslides prompted last week’s evacuation of about 40 people from Holden Village, a remote Lutheran retreat center near the upper part of Lake Chelan. Heavy rain washed out the only road leading in and out of the mountain community. A small skeleton crew of 11 staff stayed behind to finish winterizing the village.
“With only one road, once that went out, we lost all ground access,” Carl Norquist, Holden Village’s communications manager, said. “At first, we thought we might be stuck for a few weeks. By Friday, we realized it could be months.”
Holden Village sits about 10 miles uphill from the Lucerne boat dock. A boat trip and a drive up a winding mountain road are required to get to the retreat. The community, which operates year-round, had no guests at the time of the evacuation, a factor Norquist said simplified the process.
Residents were flown out Saturday by helicopter in groups of five. The aircraft ferried people from the village to the Lucerne dock, where they boarded a special pickup boat. The entire evacuation took several hours.
Norquist said each person was limited to what they could carry on their lap during the flight.
“I left with my pet parrot and one backpack,” Norquist said. “A lot of my personal belongings are still there, and I don’t know when I’ll see them again.”
Norquist, who began working at Holden Village in October 2024 on a two-year contract, said he expects to continue his job remotely and hopes to return in the spring.
“This community is very tight-knit,” he said. “You work together, eat together, spend your free time together. To have it break apart so quickly is really hard.”
The evacuation marked the village’s second this year. A wildfire forced a brief evacuation in September, though staff returned within a week.
Norquist said the village was fully booked for the Christmas and New Year holidays, and the closure is expected to significantly impact revenue. Donations have increased in recent days, he said, as supporters across the country offered financial help and housing for displaced staff.
“We’ve seen an incredible outpouring of support,” Norquist said. “That gives me hope.”
Road repairs are not expected until snow melts in the spring.“We’re optimistic we’ll be able to reopen for summer,” Norquist said. “But right now, there are a lot of unanswered questions.”
Reneé Diaz may be contacted at [email protected]. Collaborative reporting by The Wenatchee World, NWPB and the Murrow College of Communication Newsroom Fellowship.
