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Burlington, WA still underwater as Skagit County hit hard by floods
Residents in Burlington described heartbreak and shock after floodwaters surged into homes, destroying new furniture, vehicles and renovation work despite sandbags and tarps.
BURLINGTON, Wash. - After floodwaters invaded the community of Burlington on Friday morning, forcing the evacuation of the entire town, the governor told around 10,000 residents to leave their homes and businesses since that time.
Some people have been allowed to return. This was a map the city provided on Friday evening.
The waters have receded a bit off some parts of Highway 20, but there are stretches between Burlington and Sedro-Woolley that are still closed, with water over the road there. We talked to one resident whose house flooded early Friday morning.
She provided the pictures below.
When the water from the Gages Slough came knocking, unfortunately, Sarah Crouter's walk-in basement let it in.
"It was crazy. We were up all night," said Sarah Crouter, a Burlington resident. "It started coming across the road at around like 2:30 am and pretty quickly it was rushing across Highway 20."
The water didn't stop until their carpet was "floating" and the whole town became an evacuation zone.
"We ended up getting 6 to 8 inches in our basement."
They decided not to leave because their home has a third level where they stayed high and dry.
"We just stayed and roughed it out," said Sarah.
Residents in Skagit Valley got a hand from the National Guard. FOX 13 crews spotted this truck helping motorists along Highway 20 Friday night.
"Kept checking on the water as it kept coming up, and it was a bit nerve wrecking," said Russell Sizemore, another Burlington resident.
Sizemore says he also did not evacuate. His house sits on a higher elevated "bump" and he says his property did not flood.
Next week, folks in Burlington are bracing for another round of rain as Skagit County says the National Weather Service is montioring other potential atmospheric rivers that are forecast to hit the county again starting Sunday.
"We still have sandbags in case it comes back," said Sarah, "But, hoping this is the worst of it and that will be it," said Sarah.
These are some of the safety tips provided by the county;
Respect all road closure signs. Refer to the live Skagit County road closure map here: http://www.skagitcounty.net/flood
- Do not drive through any water over roadways.
- Stay out of floodwater. It can be contaminated, contain dangerous debris, and hide other hazards. Underground or downed power lines can also electrically charge the water.
The county says next week's rain could cause additional flooding, especially since the Skagit River will not be able to fully recede by Sunday.
The county issued this statement regarding just how high the rivers got from Thursday night into Friday.
"The Skagit River has crested in Concrete and Mount Vernon at historic levels, leading to vast flooding across the Skagit Valley. The river crested at 41.1 feet in Concrete on Thursday at 6:45 a.m. and at 37.73 feet in Mount Vernon on Friday at 12:15 a.m. Flooding along Gages Slough led to additional evacuation notices in the City of Burlington on Friday morning.
As floodwaters recede, Skagit County urges residents to proceed with caution. Residents may return home if routes are open and safe for travel and their home is not currently affected by flooding. There are still neighborhoods and towns which are flooded and unsafe for return. Emergency operators are continuing to respond to the flood event. Those who still need resources such as shelter information can visit the Skagit County incident page here: http://www.skagitcounty.net/flood "
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