Public damage costs from bomb cyclone near $20M in Snohomish County

EVERETT — Last month’s bomb cyclone caused at least $18.6 million in damage to public infrastructure in Snohomish County.

Much of the damage came to power infrastructure. The Snohomish County Public Utility District saw $15 million to $16 million in losses, spokesperson Aaron Swaney wrote in an email. He cautioned the damage estimates weren’t complete, as of Wednesday. At the peak, about 135,000 homes and businesses lost power.

The PUD reported the storm damaged 130 utility poles, destroyed over 100 transformers and damaged 33 miles of wire. It took about a week to restore every customers’ power.

Snohomish County initially reported a total of over $18 million in damage to public property, including a lower preliminary number from PUD, as well as over $2 million in damage to the city of Everett.

County Public Works crews worked “around the clock” for several days to clean up and make repairs following the storm, department Director Kelly Snyder said in an email.

“The storm generated more than 1,500 response tasks, including debris cleanup, tree removal, sweeping, and repairs to damaged guardrail and road signs,” Snyder wrote. “This required more than 145 hours of late-night callouts and nearly 600 hours of overtime between November 19-25. Cleanup is still underway in some areas.”

The storm closed 36 roads in Snohomish County. Public Works restored power to 30 traffic signals that had gone dark. County parks reported over $800,000 in initial damages and was forced to close two parks.

Last week, County Executive Dave Somers signed an emergency declaration directing county resources toward storm recovery.

To qualify for relief funds, public agencies need to report the amount of damage a storm caused. That number is subject to change, local and state emergency officials stressed. It also does not include private property damage, which the county is in the process of recording.

That data helps inform which, if any, federal relief programs local governments and private citizens might be eligible for. A press release from the governor’s office noted the state would need at least $14.5 million in damage to public infrastructure to qualify for the federal Public Assistance Program. It could give cities and counties some relief.

“The complexity and scale of this storm is unlike anything we’ve experienced in recent times,” Gov. Jay Inslee said in the Nov. 26 press release.

However, it is a drawn-out process to access those funds, state Emergency Management Division spokesperson Karina Shagren said. Property owners aren’t guaranteed to see federal funds, she added. And it requires presidential approval.

In President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in office, a dispute over relief funding after the Malden wildfires in eastern Washington played out in the public eye. Washington didn’t get the relief money until President Joe Biden took office.

“We all remember that situation well and have concerns that something similar can happen again,” Shagren wrote in an email.

For now, data collection continues and that will inform relief efforts, county Emergency Management Director Lucia Schmit said in an interview Wednesday. Thresholds are high for individual federal relief, she added. There’s also a short turnaround time to submit an application for storm damage relief to the federal government.

And it’s why Snohomish County is using a two-pronged effort to collect that data, which can be used to connect property owners with disaster relief funds. Damage surveys can be submitted at https://bit.ly/Report_SnoCo_Damage or in person on Friday.

Photos are critical.

“My perception of major damage to my home might be different than the federal government’s perception of major damage to my home,” Schmit said. “And so having those photos where we can document, ‘No really the tree not only went through the roof, but it hit this structural wall.’”

The county’s emergency management department will be hosting in-person damage collection surveys in some of the hardest hit communities. The in-person events are from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday.

They’ll be hosted at several locations:

• Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue, Station 81; 12409 21st St. NE, Lake Stevens;

• Lake Roesiger Fire Department; 1205 S Lake Roesiger Rd., Snohomish; and

• Evergreen State Fairgrounds Park, near the Park and Ride; 17433 U.S. 2, Monroe.

The county is asking the public to come with some information.

Helpful information includes:

• Address of damaged property (Note: Only primary residences qualify. No outbuildings);

• Primary cause of damage;

• County assessed value of the structure;

• Estimated value of personal property or contents lost;

• Brief description of impacts to structure or land and any unmet needs; and

• Whether the property has homeowners, renters or business insurance.

Jordan Hansen: 425-339-3046; jordan.hansen@heraldnet.com; X: @jordyhansen.