The deluge
Posted by: Andrew Engelson at 11:51AM on Nov 07, 2006 | Link to this thread
Filed under: Hiking News

Some flooding updates.

First, to repeat: the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie and Olympic National Forests are urging that visitors continue to stay away for the next 2 days because of washouts, flood danger, and uncertainty about road conditions. Mount Rainier National Park is currently closed.

I-90 appears to be open, but US Highway 2 is closed between milepost 41 and 46. US Hwy 12 is closed between milepost 121 and 129. Many other roads are closed or have standing water. I just received an e-mail indicating that officials hope to have the North Cascades Highway reopened by 8 a.m. Wednesday morning. Current info can be found at WSDOT's travel alert website. Current flood updates can be found at KING-5's flooding and weather wire.

Meanwhile, it's nasty out there. Mount Rainier climbing ranger Mike Gauthier reported recent conditions yesterday at Mount Rainier on his blog:

A firsthand account on nwhikers.net indicates that the Mid Fork Snoqualmie River Road has water over the roadway in many places. We'll have to wait to see what the damage to Forest Service roads and trails will be, but my guess is it will be extensive.

Here's a YouTube link to a video taken of the swollen Stilliguamish near Mount Pilchuck. That's a heckuva lot of water.

Photo of flooding on Nisqually River by Mike Gauthier.

North Cascades Highway open, Stevens still closed

WSDOT announced that the North Cascades Highway has reopened, but that US 2 over Stevens Pass is still closed, and crews are hard at work clearing a 75-foot wide mud slide below Skykomish and setting up temporary guard rails.

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Posted by Andrew Engelson at 12:45PM on Nov 08, 2006 | Link to this message

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