Here’s the latest on Whatcom County road closures due to flooding Wednesday
Most routes off the Lummi Peninsula remain unsafe due to flooding, according to Whatcom County Wednesday morning, Nov. 17.
Residents of Lummi Island have been asked to shelter in place and peninsula residents told to be prepared to evacuate if necessary.
Tuesday night, Nov. 16, the county posted that the emergency evacuation route has significant standing water on Hillaire between Kwina and Red River roads. “Please do not attempt to drive across any standing water on roadways. There could be dangers under the water that are not visible,” the county stated.
Elsewhere, the Washington State Department of Transportation opened the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 south of Bellingham Tuesday evening.
The closure between Nulle Road and south Samish Way had been in place since Monday afternoon, Nov. 15, when heavy rains forced a 250- to 300-foot section of the hillside above northbound lanes near Lake Samish to slide across the freeway.
Washington State Patrol Trooper Rocky Oliphant also asked that people not call 911 to ask about the status of roads in the area.
“Our dispatchers are getting a large number of 911 calls asking about the status of closed roads and detours,” he tweeted. “ Please do not call our dispatchers with these questions, they are already fielding large amounts of calls for emergencies.”
WSDOT also reported that the Iowa Street off-ramp at Iowa Street remains closed due to flooding at the underpass.
Oliphant also reported that “there is not many routes” to get to Everson right now, adding that Lawrence Road (State Route 9) between Mount Baker Highway and Siper Road has washed away.
“Road closed signs are there for a reason and that’s your safety. Cascade Natural Gas is fixing an exposed gas line at this location as well. Safety is our priority,” Oliphant tweeted.
Meanwhile, the city of Bellingham reported late Tuesday morning that most city streets have been reopened for use. Exceptions, according to a release, were Squalicum Parkway and Iowa Street near the I-5 underpass. Bridges at James Street and Meador Avenue will remain closed until Whatcom Creek water levels drop to allow inspection of those bridges.
Whatcom County
A full list of Whatcom’s road closures is online. These were listed at 8:50 a.m. Wednesday. Nov. 17:Barrett Road at Paradise Road.
Beach Avenue at Cedar Avenue.
Birch Bay Lynden Road, east of Ham Road.
Clearbrook Road from Swanson Road to Nooksack Road.
Ferndale Road north of Marine Drive.
Flynn Road north of River Road.
Fremont Street from Austin Street to Coronado Avenue.
Gillies Road south of Alm Road.
Goshen Road west of Roberts Road.
Ham from Birch Bay Lynden to Arnie.
Hamm Road between Arne and Bay.
Hampton Road west of Slotemaker and at Lynden to the county line.
Hannegan Road from Polinder Road to Lynden.
Harksell Road east of Dahlberg Road.
Haxton Way north of Kwina Road.
Hillaire Road south of south Red River Road.
Hillside Road, south of Potter Road.
Hovel at Morgan.
Jensen Road off Squalicum Lake Road.
Kwina Road west of Haxton Way.
Lampman Road east of Haxton Way.
Lindsay Road between Trapline and VanBuren.
Lummi Shore Road at Cagey Road and at Haxton Way.
Mack Road at Oat Coles Road.
Marine Drive from Rural Avene to Ferndale Road.
Massey Road at Oat Coles Road to Goodwin Road.
Mosquito Lake Road in the 4100 block.
North Fork Road in the 5800 block.
Nielson Road off Hovander Road.
Noon Road north of east Smith Road.
Northwood Road from Kamm Road to Hampton Road.
Ritter Road off Northwest Road.
River Road south of Flynn Road.
Saxon Road, single lane.
Seacrest Drive at Cove Avenue.
Silver Lake Road in the 9600 block.
Slater Road west of the railroad tracks.
South Church Road south of Ulrich Road.
South Red River from Haxton to Hillaire.
Sunset Avenue west of Graveline is a single lane.
Timon Road east of Northwood Road.
Turkington Road at bridge.
Van Buren Road Clearbrook to east Badger Road.
State roads in Whatcom County
WSDOT reported these closures at noon Wednesday:
Interstate 5
Northbound off-ramp to Iowa Street (MP 253.6).
State Route 9
Northbound and southbound from Vancouver Street (MP 97.6) to the Canadian border crossing (MP 99).
Northbound and southbound from just south of Wickersham Street (MP 67) to Mount Baker Highway (MP 79).
Northbound and southbound at Hathaway Road (MP 63).
State Route 11
Northbound and southbound at West Allen Road (MP 2.9).
State Route 20
Eastbound and westbound from Conrad Road (MP 100) to Thornton Creek Road (MP 118).
State Route 544
Eastbound and westbound between Robinson Street (MP 6.80) and Kale Street (MP 7.24).
State Route 546
Eastbound and westbound at Trapline Road (MP 6).
Eastbound and westbound at Van Buren Road (MP 7).
State Route 547
Eastbound and westbound from Bishop Road (MP 8) to Telegraph Road, near Sumas (MP 9).
This story was originally published November 15, 2021 at 9:52 AM.