November 16, 2021 4:36 p.m.
Skagit County Flood Update
The Skagit River in Mount Vernon crested at 36.89 feet at 5:17 a.m. this morning. As of 3:30 this afternoon, the river level in Mount Vernon has dropped to 35.98 feet.
The Skagit River in Concrete crested yesterday, Monday, November 15, 10:45 a.m. at 38.93 feet. The river level in Concrete was 32.01 feet at 3:30 p.m.
The Samish River crested yesterday, Monday, November 15, 8:15 a.m. at 13.99 feet. The river level has dropped as of 3:30 p.m. to 10.99 feet.
Flood Warning Extended. The National Weather Service has extended the flood warning for the Skagit River through late Thursday night, November 18, as stating: “The area will dry out with the end of the rainfall for a few days. However, with so much water in the system, it will take some time to drain the flood waters. In addition, the dams on the Skagit were able to absorb a significant part of the flood but with the reservoirs near maximum pool levels, that water must start being released. This will slow the recession of the river levels downstream.”
Army Corps of Engineers: Press Release
“The Corps has been actively directing operations at Upper Baker and Ross Dam to manage flooding on the Skagit River, which reduced the peak river stage at Concrete, Washington, by more than eight feet. As both reservoirs release the water stored during the flood, flows on the Skagit will stay elevated. However, flows will remain much lower than the peak flow seen on Monday Nov. 15 at Concrete.
It's important to quickly and efficiently empty the reservoirs after a flood to remain prepared for any future flood events.”
Road closures. Numerous state and county roads remain closed due to water over the roadway. Washington State Patrol closed State Route 20 between Collins and District Line Road until further notice. Fir Island Road is closed at the North and South Fork bridges to through traffic to allow flood fight measures to commence today and into the night as the crest moves through the river delta.
The City of Mount Vernon will be reopening the Division Street (SR536) Bridge and Freeway Drive within the hour.
For a complete listing of current County and State road closures, visit www.skagitcounty.net/reporting/roadclose and https://wsdot.com/travel/real-time/map/ respectively.
Recommended evacuations. Residents of the following areas have been recommended to evacuate: Fir Island, Sterling, and West Mount Vernon.
Samish Island was added to the recommended evacuation / shelter in place list this morning at 10:30 a.m. due to the likelihood of water over Samish Island Road as the Samish River crest moves west toward the river delta. This has the potential to cut off Samish Island from the mainland.
The City of Mount Vernon has cancelled the voluntary evacuation for the Westside of Mount Vernon. The City issued a voluntary evacuation for the Riverbend / Freeway Drive area this morning due to a potentially weakened dike, but it was soon cancelled after the dike was inspected and deemed sound.
School closures. If you have school aged children, please check with your school district for schedule changes and closures.
Emergency shelters. The Red Cross continues to operate shelters at Bethany Covenant Church (1318 S. 18th Street, Mount Vernon, WA 98273) and Hamilton First Baptist Church (797 Hamilton Cemetery Rd, Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284).
If you have questions or are not sure where to go, please contact Skagit County Department of Emergency Management at 360-416-1892.
The County Emergency Operation Center continues to hear reports of individuals driving through water over the roadway. Keep in mind that wind may have blown down road closure signs--proceed with caution. DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH WATER OVER THE ROADWAY. It is extremely dangerous and puts yourself and our first responders at risk. #TurnAroundDontDrown.
The Puget Sound Energy Power Outage Map shows many in the community without power. Falling trees will continue to be a concern as the ground is so saturated. Motorists should be aware and residents should be prepared for outages over the next 24-48 hours.
For more emergency information, sign up for the emergency information listserv, CodeRed Alerts or follow Skagit County on Twitter @SkagitGov. The River Level Hotline (360- 416-1404) and www.skagitcounty.net/flood are updated frequently during events with current conditions and can be resources for information as well.
Thank you for reading this long release and staying safe out there! |
