Skagit and Whatcom county rivers were rising Wednesday night, Dec. 10, with the Skagit River expected to reach record-breaking levels by Thursday and Friday, and the Nooksack River forecasted to come within inches of its record Thursday night.
The Skagit River near Concrete is predicted to reach a record-breaking 42.88 feet at 4 a.m. Thursday. The current record height is 42.2 feet. It is expected to continue rising to reach a crest of 46.13 feet by 10 a.m. Thursday. The major flood stage level for this section of the river is 32.5 feet.
The Skagit River near Mount Vernon is forecasted to break its previous record of 37.4 feet at 10 p.m. Thursday with a height of 37.85 feet. It is predicted to continue rising and reach a peak of 42.13 feet at 10 a.m. Friday. Major flood stage for the Skagit River is 32 feet. It was at the minor flood stage of 28.81 feet as of 9:15 p.m. Wednesday.
The Nooksack River at North Cedarville was at the moderate flood stage of 148.18 feet as of 9:15 p.m. Wednesday. It is expected to reach a peak of 149.31 by 4 a.m. Thursday. The previous record is 149.6. Major flood stage for the Nooksack is 150 feet.
The Nooksack River at Ferndale is forecasted to come close to reaching the major flood-stage level of 23 feet with an estimated peak of 22.05 feet at 4 p.m. Thursday. It was at the minor flood stage of 17.19 feet and rising as of 9:45 p.m. Wednesday.
The South Fork Nooksack River at Saxon Bridge is expected to reach the major flood-stage level of 10.14 feet at 4 a.m. Thursday. It was at the action stage of 7.59 feet and rising as of 9 p.m. Wednesday.
Flash flood watch
NOAA has also issued a flash flood watch Wednesday night for portions of Skagit County, including Sedro-Woolley, Anacortes, Mount Vernon and Burlington through Friday night.
The watch comes as dikes and levies may potentially fail as the Skagit River continues to rise. Burlington and Mount Vernon, into Padilla Bay and Skagit Bay, may be inundated with water.
Evacuations
Everyone living in the Skagit County floodplain was asked to immediately evacuate around 8 p.m. Wednesday. Estimates have placed that number close to 75,000 people. Mount Vernon Fire Chief Bryan Harris didn’t have an exact number, but said “a large portion of the population of Skagit County who lives in the floodplain.”
When asked where people should go, Harris noted the three western Skagit County shelter locations set up in partnership with Red Cross, but said “we want people to go to friends or family or hotels to get out of the floodplain.”
“We know that that is not enough space for everybody. … The number of people that need to evacuate — we fully understand there is not enough resources to put those people,” Harris said in an interview Wednesday night.
Harris said he has been pushing the Red Cross, which is “fully aware it’s a shortfall.”
Red Cross Northwest Communications Manager Kristin Goodwillie explained that Red Cross waits until help is requested by emergency management resources before it begins opening new shelters.
Individually-run shelters are also being supplied by Red Cross, and volunteers and supplies are flowing in from out of state.
At this point, Red Cross shelters are open in the region, she said. But Goodwillie noted the situation is in flux since a vast majority of the state is impacted by flooding.
Harris is anticipating the situation to get worse throughout the night. The Mount Vernon Fire Department will be sending people out on patrol around 7 a.m. Thursday, knocking on doors at homes and businesses in the affected neighborhoods.
National Guard
The National Guard has mobilized 100 troops in the Marysville area; they are currently on standby as of Wednesday night. On Thursday, another 200 will start in Kent, then be deployed wherever necessary, according to Washington Military Department Communications Director Karina Shagren.
The troops are available for “wherever they’re needed,” Shagren said, but the focus will likely be on Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties due to the forecast.
