School was canceled in the Snoqualmie Valley School District for two days last week as high water from the Snoqualmie River flooded streets, closing roads and knocking out power. By mid-morning Wednesday, Snoqualmie officials issued a Level 1 evacuation alert for the Mountain Avenue S.E. neighborhood near the Meadowbrook Bridge, and the Pickering Court Apartments on S.E. Northern Street.
Evacuation of homes turned out to be unnecessary, since the river crested near Snoqualmie Wednesday afternoon at just under 50,000 cubic feet per second. The greatest depth reported during the flood was more than 18 feet; flood stage near Snoqualmie is 13 feet.
There was a food-related evacuation, just not of homes. The Snoqualmie Valley Venturing Crew 115’s Christmas tree lot, at the corner of Snoqualmie Parkway and Railroad Avenue S.E., is in the floodway, and rising water Tuesday was threatening the trees, which can’t be sold if they are contaminated with floodwater, said parent Kim Ferree.
The lot didn’t actually flood, but group leaders made the call Tuesday night to evacuate. A group of about 50 volunteers moved 300 trees out of the lot and onto the Parkway. Another 400 were hauled to safety on a truck donated by Clayton Littlejon of Northfork Enterprises.
When the water began to recede on Wednesday, another group of volunteers, including the Mount Si High School football team, helped move the trees back to the lot, in time for normal business operations on Thursday, Dec. 10.
Early this week, the city of Snoqualmie reported that flooding caused a slide on the city trail connecting Deep Creek Trail and Whitaker Trail on Snoqualmie Ridge. The trail is impassable for a tenth of a mile. Walkers can reach both trails via a .2-mile detour on the Preston-Snoqualmie Trail.
Classes at Riverview School District were also canceled, but they started Thursday after a two-hour delay. The river crested Wednesday evening at about 55,000 cfs and a depth of 59 feet; flood stage is 54 feet.
Meanwhile, the Tolt River near Carnation reached a flow of about 5,500 cfs and a depth of more than 9 feet Tuesday evening, Dec. 8, then dropped for a few hours and rose again early Wednesday, to nearly the same level. Flood stage for the Tolt near Carnation is roughly 4,500 cfs and 8 feet.
King County Emergency Management has opened a hotline and website for property owners and business owners to report damages caused by the storm that may not be covered by insurance. Call (800) 523-5044, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, or visit www.kingcounty.gov/damage to file a damage report.
