Every new weather front could be seen as a threat to people in Darrington and Granite Falls whose homes hang on the edge of disaster.
The next flood in north Snohomish County could send some people in both towns fleeing their homes.
The Sauk River in Darrington and the South Fork Stillaguamish River in Robe, east of Granite Falls, have eroded their banks dangerously close to some homes.
If people do have to escape, the Snohomish County chapter of the American Red Cross already has taken precautions, said Chuck Morrison, the chapter’s executive director.
The Red Cross is providing fire departments in Darrington and Granite Falls with emergency shelter materials. In the past, the Red Cross has transported such materials where needed as rivers rose.
The potential problem with that, as local mayors and county emergency management officials pointed out to Morrison, is that big floods sometimes cut off main access roads in the two towns. Now, each town will have the shelter materials they need even if the Red Cross cannot get there.
In Darrington, for example, the fire hall now has 32 beds, 42 blankets and two emergency shelter bins with flashlights, lanterns and paperwork to keep track of who is there.
Dennis Vincent of the Darrington Fire Department said the shelter materials are a big help.
“It takes a lot of pressure off of us, figuring out how we’re going to get all this stuff,” Vincent said.
Reporter Scott Morris: 425-339-3292 or smorris@ heraldnet.com.
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