Rain, snowmelt cause flooding in Northwest

SNOQUALMIE, WASH. — Rain and high winds lashed Washington state Wednesday, causing widespread avalanches, mudslides, flooding and road closures as the heavy snowfall that has buried parts of the state began to rapidly melt.

More than 30,000 people were told to leave their homes in flood-endangered areas across western Washington as authorities warned of heavy flooding.

“This is going to be a memorable flood event,” said Andy Haner, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Seattle.

Firetrucks rolled through Orting, about 10 miles southeast of Tacoma, with loudspeakers advising everyone to leave the town and surrounding valley, home to about 26,000 people. Sandbags were placed around many downtown homes and businesses as the Puyallup River neared record levels. It was forecast to crest today.

“They expect the town of Orting to go under water,” Pierce County sheriff’s Det. Ed Troyer said, adding that the flooding could be the worst in more than a decade.

Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma declared a civil emergency because of flood risks.

Throughout the state, about 60 highways were closed, including every pass through the Cascade Range.

A 20-mile stretch of Interstate 5 near the town of Chehalis in southwestern Washington was also shut down Wednesday evening.

Amtrak said it had halted passenger trains between Seattle and Portland until at least Friday because of mudslides and washouts, Bloomberg News reported.

Warmer temperatures and heavy rains were melting snow from a weekend storm, with 10 inches melting in a 12-hour period at Snoqualmie Pass, about 50 miles east of Seattle, Haner said.

In the town of Snoqualmie, 25 miles east of Seattle, kayakers paddled in the street as city officials urged residents in the flood plain of the Snoqualmie River to leave before they became trapped.

Volunteers gathered at a city park to stuff sandbags for residents to protect their homes.

June Garvin said she lived high on a ridge outside the danger area but wanted to help.

“The river came up so fast that for some people, sorry to say, sandbags aren’t going to do a darn thing,” Garvin said. “The water’s going to get in if it wants to.”

Chris Caviezel, who has lived at Snoqualmie Pass about seven years, said conditions were the worst he has seen.

“We’re getting avalanches, and we’re being flooded,” Caviezel said.

As of early Wednesday evening, Marblemount had recorded nearly 6 inches of rain, and almost 7 inches had fallen at Snoqualmie Pass in the previous 24 hours. The weather service predicted more to come.

Several dozen people and pets were rescued by boat Wednesday morning after being trapped outside Orting, Det. Troyer said.

The weather service warned that rain-saturated snow would place more weight on Spokane rooftops, increasing the threat of collapse.

The city’s schools will be closed a third day today.

The state Fish and Wildlife Department said six wild elk that took refuge in a storage barn in Metaline Falls were killed Tuesday when the snow-laden roof collapsed.