An atmospheric river dumped heavy rain across western Washington this week, causing major river flooding and prompting evacuations throughout the region.
Most rivers hit peak levels on Thursday, but many areas continued to grapple with flooding, and lingering road closures and other weather impacts remained a possibility. A Flash Flood Watch was in effect as the Skagit River was expected to crest on Friday morning, December 12, Fox News reported.
Governor says flood delay budget rollout
At a press conference on Thursday at the Segale Levee in Tukwila, Governor Bob Ferguson said that responding to the historic flooding would likely delay the rollout of the state budget. “The original plan was to release the budget this next week; you know, we’re not sure we’ll met that, given the events of the past few days,” Ferguson said. “The good news is, most of the work had been completed before this crisis arrived, but there are still some decisions that need to be made […] I don’t want to say exactly when that will be […] but we’ll meet our deadline.”
Ferguson was joined by King County Executive Girmay Zahilay and US senator Maria Cantwell. He announced that the Trump administration had approved the disaster declaration, freeing up federal funds for recovery efforts in the coming weeks. The governor continued to urge people to follow emergency orders from authorities.
Cantwell thanked first responders and local leaders. “[It’s] supposed to be a 100-year event, but it hasn’t been 100 years since the last time we had this,” she said. “So the issue is that, places like Sumas — which is a border crossing — to be flooded out, and a border crossing closed. To have Highway 2, which is anywhere from $7–$10 million a year of economic impact be closed […] the good news is that federal support is on the way.”
Roads closed after landslide
Elsewhere, US-12 was closed near the Porter West city limits after a landslide uprooted trees and blocked the road.
In Burlington, the mayor partially lifted an evacuation order for anyone whose home or business was located west of the north-south running railroad tracks.
Sedro-Woolley imposed a Temporary Flight Restriction over Skagit County and asked residents not to fly personal drones in affected areas. In Chelan County, crews restored power overnight to thousands of customers after 13 outages on Thursday had left 10 946 people without electricity; as of Friday morning, 3 834 customers remained without power.
President approves emergency declaration
President Trump signed Washington state’s request for an emergency declaration, Governor Bob Ferguson announced on Friday morning. According to a post on X, Ferguson received a call from Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
He was scheduled to hold a 2 pm news conference to provide further details. Local authorities across the state took action in response to severe disruptions.
Temporary flight restrictions in Skagit County
In Skagit County, the city of Sedro-Woolley imposed a temporary flight restriction. Officials asked people not to fly personal drones in the affected areas.
Meanwhile in Chelan County, crews from Chelan Public Utilities restored power to most customers after Thursday’s outages. Of the 13 reported outages, which affected 10,946 people, only 11 remained active on Friday morning, impacting 3,834 customers.
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