Flooding caused by heavy rains continues in Washington state. Several airports located near rivers are bracing for rising water, while others are being used as staging areas for rescues.
As of Thursday morning a temporary flight restriction was in place over the Skagit River Valley near the community of Sedro Woolley. Local law enforcement are using helicopters to save people who became trapped by the swiftly rising Skagit River.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the river is expected to crest Thursday night at 36 feet. County officials are advising people who live in the 100-year flood plain to move to higher ground immediately.
To the south in Snohomish at Harvey Field (S43), volunteers, many of them from EAA Chapter 84, spent hours moving aircraft that could not be flown out to the highest point on the airport property between hangars.
The airport has been owned by the Harvey family since 1944 and has seen flooding before. In the late 1990s a levee was built to protect the low-lying areas, including the airport, along the Snohomish River, but video shot by Washington Weather Chasers around 7:30 a.m. showed the river overflowing the levee north of the airport.
A video shot from the air by Long Bach Nguyen, a Washington search and rescue pilot and professional photographer, shows how close the floodwaters are to the airport.
Meanwhile, to the south in Renton, city officials are warning residents that the Cedar River “will cause major flooding in Renton, especially at the Renton Airport. Flooding will occur all along the river, including headwaters, tributaries, and other streams within and near the Cedar River Basin.”
The Cedar River is located east of the airport, and the waters have flooded the airport before, most recently in 2020.
According to Manny Cruz, the Renton airport manager, as of Thursday morning the airport was open and the runway operational, although there are parts of the perimeter road closed due to flooding.
This is an ongoing story and will be updated.
