OLYMPIA — November’s deadly storms hit Snohomish County harder, in dollar terms, than any other part of the state.
High winds and flooding caused at least $21 million in damage throughout Washington. Nearly a third of the total — an estimated $6.8 million — was in Snohomish County, particularly to the power grid. Spokane County’s losses were the next highest, an estimated $5 million.
Gov. Jay Inslee sent a letter to President Barack Obama and the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday seeking disaster-assistance grants.
“This storm brought significant damage statewide,” Inslee wrote. “Powerful winds knocked out utility service to hundreds of thousands of customers. Heavy rain washed out local roads and state highways. And downed trees and power lines caused damage to several buildings and other public infrastructure.”
Inslee’s request covers 31 of Washington’s 39 counties. The governor noted that the fall storms arrived after Washington’s emergency-response funds already had been depleted by a series of disasters, including the Oso mudslide, wildfires and other storms.
High winds brought the worst damage Nov. 17.
A wind gust of 58 mph was recorded at Paine Field. Gusts reached the triple digits in some mountainous areas: 137 mph at Mission Ridge west of Wenatchee and 119 mph along Highway 12 near Mount Rainier.
Inslee’s letter revisits the most serious impacts.
On Ben Howard Road near Monroe, 23-year-old Grant Strinden was killed when a tree fell on his car while he was driving. There were near-misses, too. A tree almost hit a driver and his passenger when it landed on a van on Highway 9 near Marysville.
State troopers reported responding to dozens of calls about fallen trees blocking roads.
Some of the costliest damage involved the power grid.
Nearly two-thirds of the Snohomish PUD’s 332,000 customers — 205,000 — experienced an outage, utility spokesman Neil Neroutsos said. Most had power back on by Nov. 21. That’s the PUD’s highest number for a single storm, surpassing the record of 175,000 from an Aug. 29 windstorm.
After the fall storm, the PUD send out 90 work crews — about 500 people — to repair damage. The cost of the emergency response and repairs from November is at least $5.3 million. That comes on top the $1 million spent responding to the August storm.
The bill from the August windstorm topped $1 million and the November outage added at least $5.3 million more.
Statewide, more than a half million customers lost power.
Two mudslides forced the closure of U.S. 2 through Stevens Pass. High waters caused erosion underneath a U.S. 2 bridge foundation east of Skykomish, forcing state officials to close the highway for much of the following week.
Floodwater damaged Highway 530 in Arlington. Cama Beach and Fort Casey state parks sustained damage to campgrounds and trails.
The wind hit during a period of heavy rains between Nov. 12 to 18. Meteorologists described the conditions as an atmospheric river.
Rainfall totals ranged from 3 to 15 inches at lower elevations in western Washington. They exceeded 15 inches in some mountain areas.
Runoff caused rivers to rise. The Snohomish River experienced major flooding near Monroe and in Snohomish. The Skykomish River saw major flooding near Gold Bar.
State and federal officials surveyed local communities last week, said Heather Kelly, a spokeswoman for Snohomish County’s Department of Emergency Management. They visited Arlington, Everett, Index, Marysville and Sultan, as well as storm damage at the Mount Index Riversites community, earlier affected by a slow-moving mudslide.
If the governor’s request is approved, FEMA would cover 75 percent of eligible costs related to the emergency response, debris removal and permanent repairs to roads, bridges, public utilities and other infrastructure.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
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