More atmospheric rivers coming for flooded Washington and the West Coast

CNN Rain has conclusively come to an end in flooded Washington and the Pacific Northwest but the region can t breathe easy More heavy rain from new atmospheric rivers will arrive next week As of Saturday Stehekin Valley a remote area of Washington only reachable by boat or aircraft is already under an evacuation order in preparation for the upcoming rain Slide areas may slide again and creeks and drainages are expected to rise Chelan County Crisis Management posted on social media Rivers are dangerously swollen after a dayslong deluge from a powerful atmospheric river triggered historic flooding tens of thousands of evacuations and dozens of water rescues The situation is truly historic Rivers like the Skagit River and Cedar Rivers literally experiencing historic levels of flooding Washington Gov Bob Ferguson mentioned during a Friday news conference This is something that the people of the state of Washington have not faced before this level of flooding Floodwater was waist deep in a large number of places but more than feet deep in the hardest-hit areas like Sumas Washington where the Coast Guard rescued dozens A few people were rescued from rapidly rising floodwater by helicopter while others were taken to safety by boat from their homes or atop cars Dozens of people were also rescued in King County including dramatic operations where people were lifted from treetops Brendan McCluskey director of the King County Office of Urgency Management commented during the news conference In Whatcom County leaders responded to more than rescue calls including at least involving water rescues according to a county news release Danger also spiked in Burlington Washington on Friday as floodwater spilled into homes An evacuation order went out to everyone in city limits early in the morning with the National Guard going door-to-door to notify residents but was partially lifted a sparse hours later The situation is extremely unpredictable the governor mentioned We saw that in Burlington last night where literally in the middle of the night about folks had to flee their homes in a really dire situation Flooding and mudslides have brought voyage to a halt across western parts of the state As of Friday morning more than highways are closed across counties including a nearly -mile stretch of US according to the Washington State Department of Transportation US is a major east-west track through the state with no easy detours in multiple sections We are not out of the woods yet This is not a routine storm event This is historic flooding that has put lives and businesses and critical infrastructure at vulnerability all over our region King County Executive Girmay Zahilay commented during the Friday news conference Director of State Exigency Management Robert Ezelle warned residents against trying to get back into their homes too early because the situation still is fluid and dynamic Authorities stressed the risks of residents disregarding road closures warning ignoring the alerts could put both their own lives and the safety of rescue workers in jeopardy It s going to be days in various cases weeks before those rivers are at a level that it s confident and safe for everybody to get back home stated Gen Gent Welsh adjutant general of the Washington National Guard echoing Ezelle s concerns So if you re an area you ve been displaced you have my deepest sympathies and empathy going into this holiday season But this is a long haul Residents of a damaged remote town plan to survive on their own The upcoming atmospheric rivers won t be quite as potent as this week s but they could renew flood danger and will complicate cleanup efforts Soaked ground struggles to absorb heavy rain so flash flooding and rapid river rises are more likely with new bouts of rain In Stehekin a region tucked miles up Lake Chelan the future jeopardy is especially concerning as residents grapple with the wreckage left behind by powerful floods and debris slides that have torn apart the town s fragile infrastructure The debris slides trace back to the burn scar left by the massive Pioneer Fire of which ignited on the north side of Chelan County before roaring into the surrounding wilderness leaving the landscape dangerously vulnerable and prone to flooding Chelan County Crisis Management Sgt Jason Reinfeld communicated CNN When the storm came through it just loosened all that debris up and they had various slides that have blocked large portions of the roadway Reinfeld reported As floodwaters surged through the area the ground gave way sending debris flows that severed access to Stehekin blocking landing zones and boat docks and further isolating the area They re a very resilient district as it is they re used to living far away from others but they are a lot of the citizens up there are without power Reinfeld commented Three sections of the region farther up the valley are now entirely cut off with debris flows sealing off roads and leaving residents stuck Two of those groups are well-equipped and they re able to sustain themselves for a long period of time here one of them says even through the winter if they had to announced Reinfeld The third group however is running dangerously low on fuel and is awaiting a delivery from the sheriff s office on Saturday Deputies are also hauling in three pallets of drinking water to sustain residents until their wells can be restored Society utility district crews responsible for power water and sewer services have been working to assess the damage but blocked access points throughout the neighborhood have severely hampered their efforts Just clearing up access is a predicament Reinfeld explained This is going to be a longtime issue It s going to take quite a while to recover from he added It s much harder to do a lot of the work in the wintertime What s expected to come Light rain will move into western Washington on Sunday but it will just be an appetizer for the atmospheric river that dips into the area early Monday Washington will endure the brunt of the heaviest rain Monday but particular soaking rain will also move farther south into western Oregon as the day progresses This atmospheric river is forecast to be at least a Level of or strong event for these states Multiple days of continued rain next week could lead to additional key impacts given the moderate to major flooding ongoing at present the Weather Prediction Center warned Thursday A Level of vulnerability of flooding rainfall is already in place for much of western Washington Monday with a Level of jeopardy in western Oregon and far northwestern California according to the WPC Rivers in the region that lower over the weekend could hastily surge back to dangerous levels as rain falls including portions of the Snohomish and Skagit rivers Both surged into major flood stage the highest level and crested at historic levels on Thursday latest records last set in Wet weather will ease a bit in the Pacific Northwest early Tuesday before another atmospheric river-fueled storm arrives late in the day and continues through Wednesday This storm will be more widespread than Monday s with rain likely from Washington to much of Northern California Selected high-elevation snow from this storm will fall in portions of the Cascades and east into the northern Rockies The hits just keep coming Additional storminess is viable later next week too The forecast that far out is still coming into focus but anyone in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California can t let their guard down