I-5 reopens; Whatcom County prepares for flooding as Nooksack and Sumas rivers run high
The state reopen northbound lanes on Interstate 5 south of Bellingham shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday evening, according to a Washington State Department of Transportation tweet.
The road was closed about 8:45 a.m. near the Samish curves due to a mudslide. Southbound lanes remained open.
The slide happened after rain fell throughout the night from a storm that was predicted to dump 2 to 3 inches of rain in the Whatcom County lowlands. Almost 2 inches of rain was recorded from Friday to Saturday noon at Bellingham International Airport.
WSDOT set up detours around the slide near milepost 244.
“Consider alternate routes (SR 9 is not an option due to flooding near Acme), delay your trip if you can or expect significant delays.,” WSDOT wrote in an email.
A WSDOT tweet at 2:16 p.m. said that the slope above the freeway has been assessed and determined safe to allow crews to begin clearing the roadway.
But plenty of work remains, the tweet reported, as crews still must cut and remove debris and the broken guardrail, sweep the road and have a contractor come to replace the 200-plus feet of guardrail.
Following cleanup work Saturday, drivers can expect single lane closures as WSDOT works to remove the 100-plus yards of debris that fell in the slide.
Flooding expected
Elsewhere, “moderate to major flooding is occurring in Whatcom County and is expected to continue through the weekend,” according to a Whatcom County public safety briefing early Feb. 1. Sumas River and Johnson Creek were reported rising in a 9:15 a.m. update from the county.
People who live in known flood areas should continue to be prepared to leave on short notice, the safety briefing continued.
“The river is coming up quick in a lot of areas,” John Gargett, deputy director of the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Division of Emergency Management, told The Herald. Even as rain has stopped, water continues to drain off the mountains.
“Everything is soaked, so it will take time for the water to dissipate,” Gargett said.
Water overtopped the Lynden water treatment plant but it remains operational, according to the update. Significant flooding in Lynden has flooded farmland and even washed downed trees over the levees, but has not caused problems, according to Gargett.
The Nooksack is already 2 to 2.5 feet over flood stage in Ferndale, Gargett said, and residents in Sumas were preparing for potential flooding Saturday after dark
The Nooksack River caused localized flooding in Everson and is feeding the Sumas River north into Canada, Gargett said.
About 800 residents of Sumas were notified early Saturday, Gargett said, about what to do should the river rise enough to damage homes. Sumas Police Chief Daniel DeBruin alerted residents by sounding a fire siren at 5:45 p.m. to rising waters that reached Badger Road and are likely to reach the city, according to a city tweet. Residents were told to leave if it is safe or to shelter in place.
At 6:15 p.m. the Whatcom Unified Emergency Coordination Center sent an email: “The rising water has reached Clearbrook and the Sumas Mayor, Police Chief and Fire Chief have activated the flood response plan and residents are requested to remain in their homes and not travel as roads are flooding.”
A flood warning remains in effect for Whatcom County until about 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 3.
Weather forecast
The National Weather Service forecast rain and snow showers. Daytime snow accumulation of less than a half-inch was possible.
The weather service reported a “chance of rain and snow showers before 10 p.m., then a chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. South southwest wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New snow accumulation of less than a half-inch possible.”
Saturday, “temperatures will reach a high near 50s degrees and then rapidly begin to fall. Lows tonight will be around 30 degrees so a risk of icy roads will develop,” according to the county’s emergency management online briefing.
Roads closed
“I would just advise people to be prepared for road closures across Whatcom County all day and into tomorrow. And of course not to drive through any water,” Gargett wrote in an email to The Bellingham Herald.
Several people were rescued early Saturday from their car, which was trapped in water near Mosquito Lake Road and Valley Highway. Gargett credited Fire District 16 for the save.
The occupants of five cars were rescued after attempting to drive on flooded streets in Everson, Gargett said.
The county reports close to 100 roads with water and debris or closures.
Roads with portions closed include Main Street in Lynden, Potter Road and Marine Drive.
Gargett also reported:
▪ Slater Road is closed, probably until Tuesday, from Labounty to Haxton roads. Traffic is being detoured to Lake Terrell Road.
▪ State Route 9 is closed and will remain so overnight.
▪ Hannegan Road between Polindar Road and the Lynden city limits is now closed at least for the day.
▪ Reese Hill Road between Sumas and Kendall is closed at least for the day as the creek washed over the road.
▪ Main Street in Everson is closed between Blaine Drive and west 2nd Street.
▪ Reese Hill Road, which is State Route 547, is closed due to flooding from Saak Creek. Trees with power lines are down over the roadway.
You can check road closures online at the county’s website.
Slide, power loss
A mudslide at Mosquito Lake road and Mount Baker Highway was cleared by 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
“The windy weather has caused outages around our service area,” according to the Puget Sound Energy website Saturday. “There are approximately 12,000 customers without power. Our crews have worked through the night to restore power to more than 31,700 customers.”
Those numbers were for the northwest. The PSE outage map showed a half-dozen power outages scattered across Whatcom County Saturday.
The strongest winds of this storm so far were 33 mph sustained with gusts 52 mph about 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, according to observations at Bellingham International Airport where official measurements are taken.
Get sandbags, report damage
▪ Whatcom County Public Works Department has a number to request sandbags, 360-778-6400 ext. 2.
▪ A non-emergency reporting line for residents and businesses to report effects of flooding is 360-788-5311.
This story was originally published February 1, 2020 at 7:50 AM.
