The river rose rapidly in Sumas. They worked together to keep community members safe
As the water began to rise around Sumas, the town was ready.
Several days of heavy rain had engorged the Nooksack River and other local streams. Flooding was imminent.
Emergency management officials, public works crews, police and firefighters met Friday to discuss strategy.
More than 40 local residents helped fill sandbags and city staff were ready to work around the clock, Sumas Mayor Kyle Christensen told The Bellingham Herald.
Then waves of water washed through Everson and Nooksack on Saturday and surged toward the Sumas River and Johnson Creek.
All they could do was sound the siren atop Sumas City Hall and wait, hope and pray.
‘A group effort’
“We never expected that we would get as much water as we did,” Christensen said in an interview.
Christensen, who is also a volunteer firefighter with Whatcom County Fire District 14, said he stayed awake and worked like everyone else as the river inundated downtown — engulfing homes and businesses with a foot or more of water and closing the U.S.-Canada border.
“It was a group effort. Everybody was working long hours going without sleep,” Christensen said.
“I really appreciate the small-town involvement,” said Christensen, who has lived in Sumas for six years. “It’s nice when you need people and they are there.”
Facebook updates
Knowing that local residents would be desperate for updates, Christensen turned to the city’s Facebook page.
“I was posting them in real-time as things were happening,” he said.
District 14 Fire Chief Jerry DeBruin said his volunteer crews moved equipment at the Sumas station on Columbia Street in case water surged inside, as it did in the 1990 flood.
“We knew it was coming. You just kind of watch what happens,” DeBruin told The Herald.
In case Sumas fire crews were cut off, DeBruin said he made plans with firefighters in Abbotsford, British Columbia, to answer emergency calls on the north side of the city and with Fire District 1 in Everson and Nooksack to respond to alarms west of Sumas.
“It gave us some peace of mind,” DeBruin said. “People were well-prepared and knew what to expect. I got two hours of sleep in 48 hours. But that’s just what you do. (Christensen) too. He was working the whole time.”
Checking on neighbors
He said firefighters checked on local residents, helped rescue stranded pets, and plucked people from cars that became stuck in the rising water.
Late Saturday night, crews were sent to check on a car stalled in 2 feet of fast-moving water on East Badger Road.
“There was this car in the middle and we thought that it must be abandoned,” DeBruin said. “But then they saw us and kept flashing their lights. We just drove in and got them. (My command SUV) has got pretty decent clearance and it’s weighted down, I’ve got a lot of equipment in there.”
Rescues, evacuations
Chief Mel Blankers of Fire District 1 said drivers who ignore barricades put themselves and emergency response crews at risk.
“People were just driving around the ‘road closed’ signs and getting into trouble,” Blankers told The Herald.
Blankers said he too was amazed at the rivers’ swift rise.
“We came up with a plan to do what we needed to do,” Blankers said. “Saturday morning was when it really started to hit. It came up so fast that we were playing catch-up.”
Blankers said his firefighters made some water rescues with the help of the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue team and helped others using volunteers with four-wheel-drive trucks.
They searched flooded homes and stranded cars, and they also helped evacuate residents suffering from medical ailments before they were cut off from help, Blankers said.
“We were moving them out of harm’s way,” he said.
District 14 firefighters, who also serve the communities of Kendall and Welcome, helped respond to alarms on the east side of District 1, Blankers said.
“I think we’re all tired,” Blankers said. “Now we start the cleanup.”
