County crews grapple with devastating flood

East county is forced to evacuate, while roads like Birch Bay-Lynden are washed out

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Devastating floods that hit Whatcom County earlier this week forced hundreds of evacuations for residents along the Nooksack River and have emergency responders scrambling to understand the extent of damage to homes and tattered roads.

After heavy rainfall over the weekend, governor Jay Inslee declared a severe weather state of emergency on Monday, November 15 for 14 counties, including Whatcom and Skagit, which bore the brunt of the storm. While Blaine and Birch Bay saw record-setting amounts of rainfall that allowed people to kayak through downtown streets, low-lying areas near the Nooksack River such as Everson, Nooksack, Sumas and Ferndale were hit the worst, displacing over 300 in emergency shelters.

Whatcom County emergency responders from the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) Division of Emergency Management, Whatcom County Public Works Department, Washington State Department of Transportation and city of Bellingham gathered in a quickly-assembled media briefing Tuesday, November 16. Emergency personnel were still responding to the historic event and couldn’t give much detail to the flood damage during the conference, emphasizing they needed more time to assess. But they said water levels were receding as the rain stopped Tuesday.

“This event was larger than our recent historical high of 1990, and that is the standard we’ve used for most of our gauging,” said county public works director Jon Hutchings, referring to severe flooding in November 1990. “It will be interesting as we monitor and assess the high water marks to really understand how much water actually moved down the Nooksack River, came from lowland flooding and came from mountain sources so we can improve our ability to predict these events in the future.”

The governor was scheduled to visit the county’s emergency center as well as families in Everson and other east county cities on November 17, Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu said during the conference. Sidhu said he had spoken with the governor multiple times in the past couple of days about the county’s situation. 

Countywide

About 300 Whatcom County residents were sheltered in Lynden at North County Christ the King Church and Sonlight Community Church, WCSO spokeswoman Deb Slater said in a statement Tuesday evening. First responders assisted about 100 rescue calls to move residents in north and northeast counties on Tuesday; all calls were complete by evening. It’s unclear the total number of rescues that occurred in the county, but an additional 70 calls were made before 9 a.m. Monday.

Sumas officials reported 75 percent of homes had water damage Monday and most of the city’s 1,600 residents had evacuated. U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Jason Givens said about 10 Blaine agents helped with 32 rescues by boat and vehicle in Sumas.

The city of Ferndale encouraged voluntary evacuation for downtown residents and businesses Tuesday morning and the evacuation orders remained in place by press time because of  the potential for the Nooksack River to overflow the town’s levee. Temporary shelter was made available at Ferndale High School.

By Tuesday night, first responders were still searching for an Everson man swept away by the flood early Monday morning using drones, K-9s and search and rescue volunteers. PeaceHealth spokeswoman Bev Mayhew said no one was admitted to the Bellingham hospital for flood-related injuries.

Across the border, Vancouver and Lower Mainland B.C. were experiencing significant flooding as well. CTV News Vancouver reported Tuesday that Canada Border Services Agency is waiving the Covid-19 test requirement for people who can’t access Canada through closed highways. There was no way out of the Lower Mainland without crossing into the U.S., according to CTV News. The Canadian military was also reported to be helping with the B.C. floods.

Residents face flooding

Custer resident Michael Hedley called 911 around midnight on November 15 after water began plowing into his house near Dakota Creek. County public works arrived at his doorstep with 300 sandbags, to help with the 150 he already had. Neighbors and friends worked tirelessly throughout the night barricading off water that was over six feet in his backyard.

“It’s been nonstop getting water out of the basement and cleaning the pumps,” he said Monday evening, expecting another sleepless night as the water stayed above the sandbag level.

Hedley, who moved his kids to sleeping upstairs after water entered their first-floor hallway, said he’s never seen anything like this. The flooding over Superbowl weekend 2020, the last major flooding in Whatcom County that left millions of dollars in damage, didn’t make it past berms Hedley built in his backyard. This time, the water overwhelmed them.

Hedley said he might keep more sandbags on hand in the future, but there’s not much more he can do because of current county regulations for cement barriers.

“How are we going to fix it? When is it going to go down? Is it going to get worse?” Hedley said of the thoughts going through his mind since Sunday night.

City of Blaine

The Blaine police department started responding to weather-related incidents around 1:30 a.m. Monday morning, spokesperson Brent Greene said. Officers responded to four hazards in that hour and 10 total on Monday. No injuries were reported in Blaine.

“It would be unusual to get two to three calls a day during inclement weather, so we’re getting three times more than anything that’s unusual,” Greene said.

Greene said at one point the police department had 100 calls pending. Calls included businesses flooding, water on the roads and a fallen tree on the I-5 exit 275 onramp. The police department responded to calls for the WCSO and Washington State Patrol, which were overwhelmed by emergency response efforts.

“There are so many hazards that only the really bad ones are being addressed,” Greene said on Monday. “The small-level ones are not getting attention but are still dangerous to drivers.”

In a race to get information to the public, the police department posted on social media that northbound and southbound access to Bellingham would close for 24-48 hours starting Tuesday afternoon, but this information was unfounded. County public works posted closures online but struggled to keep up with updating information as the number of dangerous roads increased.

“Relative to the county, Blaine was fortunate we didn’t get hit as hard as places along the Nooksack River,” Greene said. “Blaine got very lucky with what we sustained from this giant storm.”

City manager Michael Jones echoed Greene’s sentiments, and said while the city was supporting its residents, it was also focused on helping neighboring towns more severely impacted.

Blaine’s damage is minimal in comparison to the rest of Whatcom County. The largest city damage was erosion on the gravel roads going to the Pipeline Road wellfield, but Jones said this was not an urgent issue. Modest erosion occurred on Semiahmoo Spit, which Jones said was expected as the city is working on a long-term plan for sea-level rise and climate change adaptation. “We knew we needed it before the storm event and it only reinforced that we still need it,” he said of the Semiahmoo Spit erosion.

The city doesn’t have a total on the number of flooded businesses and residences at this time, Jones said.

In the coming weeks, the city’s public works department will look more closely at the parks and underground electrical facilities. Public works director Bernie Ziemianek said no Blaine residents lost power during the flooding.

Ziemianek said Monday’s response was chaotic, as the department received a “tremendous” number of phone calls but public works was unable to do much while the heavy rainfall and strong wind compromised employee safety.

“It was hectic,” he said. “We had everyone running around doing as much as they could.”

Wastewater treatment resumed to normal on Tuesday after discharge was leaking outside of the treatment facility due to the high water intake, Ziemianek said. Blaine Marine Park, which still needs erosion repairs from a king tide storm last January, had minimal damage, Ziemianek said.

“This was significant, potentially the largest single-day rainfall incident we’ve had in the last 50 years or so,” Jones said. “But we were fortunate for the most part that the water stayed where it belonged.”

Blaine City Council convened for a virtual emergency meeting at 3:30 p.m. November 16 to allow the city to enter interlocal agreements with Everson, Sumas, Ferndale and Nooksack for emergency aid. During the meeting, city officials said three public works employees were sent to help with sandbagging in Ferndale on Tuesday after concerns water would flow over the levee. More than 100 people stacked 3,000 sandbags in Ferndale on Tuesday, WCSO said in a statement.

Birch Bay Water and Sewer District (BBWSD) had a record six inches of rain in a 48-hour period from Saturday to Monday. For comparison, the water and sewer district considers 1 inch of rain in a day significant, BBWSD manager Dan Eisses said.

The district also received 4.7 million gallons of water coming into the sewer treatment facility Monday, which is nearly double the facility’s record of 2.7 million gallons in a single day recorded in 2010, Eisses said. Despite the heavy rainfall, Eisses said everything operated well except for sewer backing up in 17 homes, Eisses said.  

Road closures

Public works director Jon Hutchings said workers have closed over 100 county roads since Sunday, November 14 due to flooding, water damage and mudslides. The county is assessing over 25 roads for roadway and shoulder damage, he said, not including roads that still have water over them. “Which are fairly numerous in and around the county,” Hutchings said.

Road closures inhibited travel throughout the county, most significantly closing several sections of I-5 north and south of Bellingham. Travelers experienced two-hour delays from Bellingham to Blaine Tuesday morning and over two dozen roads were still listed as closed Wednesday morning.

Birch Bay-Lynden Road has had major culvert blowouts. Hutchings said the section of Birch Bay-Lynden Road near Ham Road will remain closed for weeks “at least,” until workers can complete a reasonable repair of the heavily-traveled roadway that collapsed over California Creek. It was unclear by press time what time the road closed but it seems to have been after the evening of November 15. Whatcom News reported November 16 that only locals were allowed on Birch Bay-Lynden Road between Portal Way and Kickerville Road, and traffic was being diverted through Portal Way, Loomis Trail Road and Blaine Road. 

Public works project manager Roland Middleton said Birch Bay-Lynden Road is a complete loss. Public works engineers are considering a temporary bridge, he said, but need to make sure there is enough roadway left to support it. “It will be some time until we can get a temporary fix.”

As for Birch Bay, Middleton said most of the areas covered by the berm were protected. Areas south of Harborview Road experienced flooding during high tide as Terrell Creek was backed up but the roadway was protected from wave action. Those north of Harborview Road in the Cottonwood area, who did not wish for the berm to be built on their private beaches, experienced major flooding and drainage issues. Middleton said the drainage improvements that came with the berm could’ve aided the area if they had granted permission for the berm to be built in their area. “They’re in a low area and low areas flood,” he said.

Several roads within the city of Blaine closed Monday, including parts of 4th Street and Pipeline Road, but reopened Tuesday, police spokesperson Greene said.

More road damage such as failed pavement and sinkholes will become known as water recedes in the coming days, WCSO officials said. The county’s public works department will assess damages to roads and bridges later this week.

Heavy rainfall also postponed the railroad work at Peace Portal Drive and Bell Road until after Thanksgiving, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation. The three-day intersection closure was scheduled to start November 16.

The Birch Bay State Park beach area is closed to vehicle traffic after significant damage to Birch Bay Drive, Washington State Parks spokesperson Meryl Lasse said. There is no time estimate when the beach access will reopen, but the upper day-use area at the park is open through Helweg Road. People can still walk to the beach.

How to donate

Whatcom County and Blaine officials are recommending people who wish to provide aid to people displaced by the flood can donate to the Whatcom Community Foundation’s Resilience Fund at bit.ly/3oA7cUZ. Donations are being matched up to $115,000.

Community Assistance Program, a local nonprofit for Blaine, Birch Bay and Custer residents, has a free clothing bank to help people who may have lost clothing because of the flooding, CAP board member Laura Vogee said. Vogee said local pastors were working on east county relief efforts, but the nonprofit hadn’t received any request for flood-related assistance by Tuesday evening.

“The need for funds to these displaced families and the damages is going to be with us for the next several months,” said county executive Satpal Sidhu. “So any help we can get through this funding, in addition to what the county will do or the state government will do, [is helpful].” 

The county expects to release information on FEMA this week. WCSO encourages anyone who has had flood damage to keep as much documentation as they can, including photos.

“We’ve had our share of floods but we haven’t had anything this bad,” Greene said. “A big snow storm can do something similar but nothing like this.”

Whatcom County residents can report non-emergency flood impacts to 360/788-5311 and non-emergency road impacts to 360/778-6400. 

Ian Haupt contributed to the reporting of this article.

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    Friday, November 19, 2021 Report this


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