Washington flooding forces an entire city to temporarily evacuate as rivers top historic highs

BURLINGTON, Wash. (AP) – National Guard troops went door-to-door early Friday to evacuate a farming city north of Seattle as severe flooding throughout western Washington stranded families on rooftops, washed over bridges and ripped homes from their foundations.

Gov. Bob Ferguson, who has warned that as many as 100,000 people would need to evacuate statewide, said Friday that President Donald Trump had signed an emergency declaration.

An unusually strong atmospheric river dumped a foot (30 cm) or more of rain in the Cascade Mountains over several days, swelling rivers to record or near-record levels. Officials issued “go now” orders Wednesday to tens of thousands of residents in the Skagit River flood plain, including in the city of Burlington, home to nearly 10,000 people. By Friday morning, muddy water overflowed a slough and rushed into homes, prompting more urgent warnings.

“ALL RESIDENTS IN THE CITY OF BURLINGTON SHOULD EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY,” Skagit County wrote on social media.

By late morning the evacuation order was lifted for part of the city and waters were slowly receding. But the river remained high, and flash flooding remained a risk due to prolonged pressure on the levees.

“It’s definitely not an all clear,” said Burlington police spokesperson Michael Lumpkin.

Despite dozens of water rescues around the region, a mudslide that struck a few vehicles on Interstate 90 and raging torrents that washed out roads or bridges, no deaths had been reported, Ferguson said during a news conference Friday afternoon.

The Skagit River drains a wide swath of the rugged Cascade Range before winding west across broad, low-lying farmlands and tulip fields on its way to Puget Sound. Cities like Burlington sit on that delta, leaving them especially vulnerable to floods.

The river crested overnight at 37 feet (11 meters) in the valley’s biggest city, Mount Vernon, surpassing the previous record by a few inches. A flood wall completed in Mount Vernon in 2018 held fast and protected the downtown area.

About 1,000 Burlington residents had to evacuate in the middle of the night, Ferguson said.

National Guard members knocked on hundreds of doors Wednesday morning to tell residents about the evacuation notice and help transport them to a shelter if needed. The water was reportedly 2 to 3 feet (0.6 to 0.9 meters) deep in certain areas as it flooded homes.

Mario Rincón had been staying at a hotel with his family, including a week-old infant. They returned to their Burlington property Friday but couldn’t get inside to assess the damage, as murky floodwaters reached part-way up the first floor. He had moved some items upstairs in anticipation.

“It’s going to be a few days before the water recedes,” he said. “We’re going to be looking where to stay in the meantime, and it’s kind of difficult because my mom and my mother-in-law are visiting from Mexico until the end of December for the holidays.”

The heaviest rain is over in the region, but the impact remains widespread. The Skagit River will be slow to recede and some rivers in the Cascades have yet to crest, while other major rivers are still above flood stage, said Jeff Michalski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.

More rain is expected beginning Sunday.

“Depending on each river, it could prolong the flooding or renew the flooding,” Michalski said.

Near the U.S.-Canada border, Sumas, Nooksack and Everson – which together have about 6,500 residents – were inundated. The border crossing at Sumas was closed.

Sumas Mayor Bruce Bosch said much of the city had been “devastated” – just four years after a similar flood. In a social media message, he said it would take most of Friday for water levels to drop enough to allow people who evacuated their houses to return. He acknowledged the community was anxious to return to their homes.

“Me too,” the mayor wrote. “Hang in there.”

Authorities across Washington state in recent days have rescued people from cars and homes.

Helicopters rescued two families on Thursday from the roofs of homes in Sumas that had been flooded by about 15 feet (4.6 meters) of water, according Frank Cain Jr., battalion chief for Whatcom County Fire District 14.

In nearby Welcome, two homes collapsed into the Nooksack River as erosion undercut them. No one was inside at the time.

Climate change has been linked to some intense rainfall. Scientists say that without specific study they cannot directly link a single weather event to climate change, but in general it’s responsible for more intense and more frequent extreme storms, droughts, floods and wildfires.

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of a meteorologist’s last name to Jeff Michalski, not Michalsky.

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Rush reported from Portland, Oregon. Associated Press writers Gene Johnson and Hallie Golden in Seattle and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report.