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Skagit County officials urge evacuation, open shelters and double emergency staffing as rivers approach record levels
Summary
Skagit County emergency management and law enforcement said they are watching levees as the Skagit River approaches record levels, opened three shelters, provided a public hotline and doubled sheriff staffing to about 30 deputies per shift; officials urged residents to stay evacuated until an all-clear.
Skagit County emergency management officials urged residents in defined flood zones to evacuate immediately, saying levees repaired after 2021 will be tested by a crest that could reach near or above previous records.
"They are not out of the woods," Skagit County Chief of Emergency Management Julie De Losada said, urging people to remain evacuated until authorities issue an all-clear. De Losada gave a help-desk number for county residents: (360) 416-2090, and directed people to skagitcounty.net for up-to-date information and resources.
Commissioner Lisa Janicki echoed the warning and asked residents to avoid driving through floodwaters or walking on dikes, saying such actions put both residents and response operations at risk. "Please be preemptive. Please get out," she said.
The county reported three shelters were operating (one in Mount Vernon, one in Cedar Woolley and a county cold-weather shelter) and said about 78,000 people live in Skagit County's floodplain; an operations briefing estimate cited in the briefing said roughly 3,800 people might need sheltering, though officials noted not all floodplain residents will require shelter space.
Law enforcement is operating on emergency 12-hour shifts. Lieutenant Jeff Willard of the Skagit County Sheriff's Office said the department doubled staffing and was "responding with approximately 30 deputies per shift, 24 hours a day," while teams conduct welfare checks, respond to calls and stood ready for rescues; the office reported a rescue in Conway the previous day.
Officials said dike districts and local levee managers are best positioned to answer site-specific vulnerability questions and that the county and its partners were monitoring known vulnerable areas from 2021 closely.
What's next: County officials asked residents to stay evacuated until an official all-clear and said public information would continue through the county website and further briefings.
