Sumas fire chief says crews rescued about 50 people in one day as flooding peaked

Response crews rescued about 50 people in Sumas in a single day — Thursday, Dec. 11 — during recent floods caused by heavy rainfall, according to Fire District 14 Chief Jerry DeBruin.

Most of the rescues were conducted in high water with high-water vehicles to get people out of danger.

“We rescued a few who were in their homes and thought it was going to be OK, but then it wasn’t OK because circumstances changed, so we ended up having to go after them,” DeBruin said.

“Once you get water in town, you know where the streets are and all that stuff, but once you get water everywhere you don’t see all that,” DeBruin said. “Even fire hydrants are covered because of the depth, and then you develop holes and all kinds of stuff there, so that’s what makes it sketchy, and that’s why it’s so important for people to evacuate.”

DeBruin said most people did evacuate following an order that was issued Wednesday afternoon, and there were very few people who remained in town who needed help. People seemed to be prepared for the floods, especially compared to the flooding in November 2021.

“We had never seen a flood to that magnitude (in 2021), so we were prepared this year for what we had seen previously,” DeBruin said.

De Bruin said he hadn’t heard of any injuries worse than minor cases of cold-weather exposure for some who had been in the water, and everyone was very thankful there were no serious injuries this year. He said no hospital transports were required.

However, there were a few cases where people needed extra help. The U.S. Coast Guard showed up in boats to help people on the western side of the train tracks that separate Sumas. One family was rescued from the second floor of their home by boat, DeBruin said.

A woman who had previously evacuated without the help of the fire department went back to her home on Columbia Street to retrieve more items and was caught when the water came up quicker than expected.

The woman was trapped by about 6 feet of water. A Sumas police officer who was trained in swim rescue got her out of the house. The woman was then checked for exposure and evacuated on a tractor donated by a local resident for rescue efforts.

Many of the people who were rescued and evacuated were taken to Lynden in school buses, which in itself was challenging due to flooding-related road closures.

Despite a lack of serious injuries, there was a lot of damage to the city. Even the District 14 fire station flooded with about 2.5 feet of water. Like many other things, the station was prepared and had set up a command base about a mile south of the town, where they could monitor the rescue efforts. Crews moved back into the station the next day.

This story was originally published December 23, 2025 at 5:20 AM.

Jack Belcher

The Bellingham Herald

360-715-2206

Jack Belcher covers transportation and recreation for The Bellingham Herald. He graduated from Central Washington University with a degree in digital journalism in 2020 and joined the staff in September 2022. Belcher resides in Bellingham.