Heavy rains and winds flood roads, topple trees, doubling damage from bomb cyclone
LAKE FOREST PARK, Wash. - A powerful storm swept through western Washington this week, leaving widespread damage, flooding, and tens of thousands of residents without power.
Heavy rains and strong winds Tuesday night into Wednesday caused creeks to overflow, roads to flood, and trees to topple, forcing utility crews and residents to deal with the aftermath.
In Lake Forest Park, Destiny Shelton, a daycare employee, described the flooding that inundated Whizz Kids Academy.
"There was water everywhere," Shelton said. "It was from the street all the way to the walls of our building. It was over the height of our rain boots."
The storm forced Shelton and her team to rent industrial fans to dry out the facility. The water reached about a foot deep inside the building.
"We did think about warning the parents to come in with life vests and boats," Shelton said. "But they made it okay."
Shelton said she had never seen flooding like this in her 40 years living in the area.
"It was pretty bad," Shelton said. "I watched tons of debris come out of the creek this morning. I just don’t want it to happen again."
Flooding shut down both directions of State Route 104 at 35th Avenue and forced school closures and delays for many districts.
Landslides, flooding close major WA highways on Olympic Peninsula
People living along the Washington Coast are now stuck without an easy way to go east, after landslides and high waters have closed major state highways.
In Fife, downed trees and power lines led to street closures, while water covered parts of SR 106 along Hood Canal.
A landslide along Lake Crescent in Clallam County kept roads closed as crews worked to clear debris.
Melanie Coon, a spokesperson for Puget Sound Energy (PSE), said the utility had up to 60,000 customers without power at the storm’s peak. As of 1 p.m. Wednesday, that number had dropped to 20,000.
"This is what we do. This is what we train for," Coon said. "Our crews are working around the clock to restore power."
Coon emphasized the importance of preparation as winter storms approach.
"People should be thinking about what worked and what didn’t last time," Coon said. "Make sure your carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors are working. And if you have a generator, keep it outside—away from the house."
The recent storm followed closely on the heels of a bomb cyclone that had already stressed the region’s infrastructure, causing additional challenges for residents and crews.
Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) crews continue working to clear affected roads, and residents are urged to check the agency’s real-time updates online.
Despite the clear skies and receding waters on Wednesday, Shelton and others in Lake Forest Park hope measures can be taken to prevent future flooding.
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