CLINTON — A broken beaver dam is being blamed for mudslides on south Whidbey Island early this morning that led to the voluntary evacuation of about eight homes.
High water was first noticed backing up through culverts around 2 a.m. on Glendale Road, less than a mile south of the Clinton ferry landing, Island County Sheriff’s detective Ed Wallace said.
The damage down slope was inevitable.
“Why (it happened) is gravity and rain,” Wallace said.
The National Weather Service in Seattle is reporting record rainfall for the first two days of April at Sea-Tac airport. Scattered showers are forecast through the morning on Whidbey Island before clearing is expected. Rain isn’t expected to return before Tuesday.
Glendale Road was blocked this morning as county road crews tried to assess the damage and determine how to clean up the mess.
No injuries have been reported, Wallace said.
Water appears to have flooded the evacuated homes and may have caused some foundation damage, officials told the Associated Press.
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