RANDLE – Residents across Western Washington cleaned up the muck and mess left by receding floodwaters, as the last few rivers in the state above flood stage continued to fall amid cooler temperatures and mountain snow Friday.
The National Weather Service issued winter storm and heavy snow advisories up and down the Cascade Range, with forecasters predicting up to 1 foot of snow in some places.
However, they said there was little chance of renewed flooding.
Four rivers remained above flood stage Friday: the Cowlitz River at Mayfield Dam near Mossyrock, the Cedar River at Renton, the Chehalis River near Porter and the White River near Buckley. Most were expected to be back within their banks by today.
Twenty-four counties asked residents to report flood-related damages before visits by state and federal authorities next week.
“The water has receded. There may be some areas that still have some standing water,” said Lewis County sheriff’s Deputy Stacy Brown. “But mostly, now we’re into the cleanup and damage assessment process. We’re still working on getting residents to report their losses.”
South of Mount Rainier in Randle and Packwood, where dozens of homes were damaged and three were washed away entirely by the Cowlitz River, volunteers were handing out drinking water, cleaning supplies, clothes, food and other items to hard-hit residents. Farther south, residents in Vader and Toutle were told to boil drinking water as a precaution after the storm.
Six crews of state and federal officials, representing the Small Business Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will conduct assessments in all 24 counties beginning Wednesday, said Rob Harper of the state Emergency Management Division.
Damages could include structural damage from floodwaters or mudslides, but also economic damage to businesses because roads were closed or traffic was diverted, Harper said.
“We can’t do a house-by-house kind of thing, but we’re going to first look at damage to individual homeowners and businesses. That’s the priority right now,” he said.
The storms that began last weekend and ended Tuesday were blamed for at least two deaths, men who drove pickup trucks into floodwaters from the Cowlitz River in eastern Lewis County. Scores of homes were damaged, and washed-out roads, campgrounds, power and sewer systems forced Mount Rainier National Park officials to close the park to visitors for the first time in 26 years.
Six shelters remained open across Western Washington. About 40 people sought shelter Thursday night.
Meanwhile, search-and-rescue crews completed their search for hunters between Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens Thursday. An estimated 1,000 hunters were believed to be in the woods, unaware that roads out of the hills were blocked by mudslides or washed away at lower elevations.
“Most of the people we contacted wanted to stay once they realized they could make it out when the mudslides are cleared off the roadway,” Brown said.
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