Video: Flood waters swallow parts of W. Wash.

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SEATTLE — More than 30,000 people were told to leave their flood-endangered homes in Western Washington Wednesday as rain and high winds lashed much of Washington state, causing widespread avalanches, mudslides and high water that could reach record levels.

Throughout Washington, 62 highways are closed, including all passes in the Cascade Range.

The state has closed down a 21-mile stretch of Interstate 5 in Lewis County. The closure stretches between Exit 68 at Highway 12 and Exit 89. The closure area includes Chehalis and Centralia and could last two days. The National Guard is on hand to help with evacuations and traffic.

In December 2007, floods closed a large stretch of I-5 in Lewis County for four days.

I-5 in Fife may also close at the Puyallup River Bridge.

Fire trucks rolled through Orting, about 10 miles southeast of Tacoma, with loudspeakers advising everyone to leave the town and surrounding valley, home to about 26,000 people. Sandbags were placed around many homes and businesses in North Puyallup, Sumner and Fife as the Puyallup River neared record levels.

Also some Orting residents were advised to leave.

"This is going to be a memorable flood event," said Andy Haner, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Seattle.

The NWS says 22 rivers in Western Washington are at or above flood stage and major flooding is expected on 19.

The following five rivers have reached record flood stage: Stillaguamish near Arlington, Skookumchuck near Centralia, Snoqualmie near Carnation, Cowlitz near Randle, and Newaukum near Chehalis.

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State emergency officials said voluntary evacuations were recommended for the southwest Washington cities of Naselle, Packwood and Randle.

And Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma has declared a civil emergency for his city of about 200,000.

KING 5 Meteorologist Rich Marriot says the rains will continue into the night, probably until 3 or 4 a.m. Thursday. The morning should bring showers, with the snow level dropping in the mountains.

"It should be all over with by late Thursday," Marriot said. "The rain will stop down here and the snow will stop in the mountains."

Friday is expected to be partly sunny, and next week should bring drier weather.

"Most of the major crests are going to be early tomorrow morning, but it will probably take most of Thursday for those rivers to get back inside their banks," Marriot said.

Rainfall totals

Rainfall totals for the 24 hours ending at 5 p.m. Wednesday included 5.9 inches at Marblemount in the Cascade foothills east of Mount Vernon; 5.19 inches at Glacier, near Mount Baker east of Bellingham; 4.93 inches at Paradise in Mount Rainier National Park; 3.83 inches in Olympia and 6.9 inches at Snoqualmie Pass.

Rainfall totals for the past two days were more than 7.25 inches in Shelton and Potlatch, more than 5 inches in Quillayute, and 5 to 6 inches in the Olympia area.

State of emergency in Whatcom Co., Skagit Co.

In Whatcom County, urban flooding has left Bellingham and other areas crippled.

Many roads are underwater and closed to traffic. For people trying to get around, the closures have been a nightmare. For paramedics, the stakes are even higher.

Dispatchers are mapping out alternative routes, but in some places that's just not an option.

"There are some locations within the county right now in the areas that we cover that are simply not accessible," Sergeant Randy Vanderheiden of Medic One said.

Skagit County commissioners have also declared a storm emergency to help deal with heavy snow, rain and flooding.

In Thurston County, the Rochester fire department is asking people living along the Chehalis River to play it safe. They've recommended evacuations for several dozen homes that flooded in December of 2007.

Photo submitted

In Bellingham, population about 78,000, water covered Meridian, a major thoroughfare, and was up to the doors of businesses on Iowa Street, where many car dealers are located.

Rescues

In Orting, more than 20 people and a number of pets were rescued by boat Wednesday morning after being trapped by high water, Troyer said.

Fire and rescue personnel launched two small motorboats to check an area where neighbors said about two dozen people live.

Diane Knowles of Eatonville said the first three to be taken to safety were her 81-year-old father-in-law and her brother- and sister-in law, who in past flooding arranged for the family to bring rescue boats.

"It came up so fast this time, there wasn't really time to think about it," she said.

On Highway 112 in Clallam County, state troopers helping a motorist trapped by water were stranded themselves by the rising water.

In Concrete, 70 miles northeast of Seattle, a 66-year-old woman was rescued after being trapped briefly in a house that was hit by a mudslide and collapsed. Diane Bergsma said she was sitting in her home with her two dogs on her lap, next to a roaring fire in her fireplace when the hillside gave way.

Evacuations in Orting, Snoqualmie, Fife

More than 20,000 folks who live in and around Orting are being advised - not ordered - to leave.

Fife Mayor Barry Johnson suggested roughly 6,000 people voluntarily leave their homes and offices in that city near Tacoma and Interstate 5.

The Puyallup and Carbon rivers, which surround Orting, are expected to reach near record levels overnight. That could cause major property damage and potentially damage the bridges that connect Orting to the rest of Pierce County.

"For the 22 years I've been here, we haven't recommended an evacuation," Mayor Cheryl Temple said. "This is certainly quite different."

Members of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians that live in the affected area are asked to go to the Fife Emerald Queen Casino. Fife Mayor Barry Johnson declared a state of emergency.

The City of Snoqualmie is officially under a state of emergency. Homes and businesses have been evacuated in both Snoqualmie and North Bend. Every major road to Snoqualmie is shut down.

The Snoqualmie River is expected to crest around 10 p.m., at 8 feet above flood stage. In many places, the streets are already filled, and water is coming into the houses.

Photo submitted

The Newaukum River off Jackson Highway, shown on Jan. 7.

Near-record flooding forecast in Lewis County

The National Weather Service says the Chehalis River at Centralia could reach a record flood level Thursday night, 10 feet above flood stage. Forecasters say the water will be deep enough to inundate residential and business areas and Interstate 5.

The Transportation Department says portions of I-5 in Lewis County could go under water.

The interstate was closed for four days at Centralia during the flooding of December 2007. Many of the people hit hardest by floods during that time are still recovering.

Families all across the area are packing their belongings and moving to higher ground.

"I didn't get a wink of sleep, just laid in bed hoping and hoping that it wouldn't come but what can you do," Bob Morris said.

Passes closed

Avalanches and the risk of more slides closed Interstate 90, Washington's principal east-west route, through Snoqualmie Pass, as well as U.S. Highway 2 through Stevens Pass and U.S. 12 through White Pass.

With State Routes 20 and 410 closed for the season, the only road access between the two sides of the state within Washington was winding, two-lane Highway 14 through the Columbia River Gorge.

Karin Czulik / KING5.com

Flooding along Issaquah Creek on Jan. 7, 2009.

U.S. 97 was closed by slides at Blewett Pass, between Leavenworth and Ellensburg, and 200 to 300 feet of the northbound lane was washed away by flooding from Peshastin Creek, state Trooper Richard A. Magnussen said.

"We may end up losing the whole road, the way it's going," Magnussen told The Wenatchee World. The damaged highway is about three miles south of the junction with Highway 2.

Mount Rainier to close entrance

Officials at Mount Rainier National Park will close the park's western Nisqually entrance Wednesday evening as a precautionary measure against flooding. No damage has occurred in the area, but park officials say the Nisqually River and Tahoma and Kautz creeks continue to rise. The same area experienced heavy flood damage in 2006.

Some train services canceled

Amtrak has suspended train service between Portland and Seattle due to mudslides saying there will be no train service between Seattle and Portland from Thursday through Saturday. Amtrak also cancelled service between Spokane and Seattle Wednesday night.

There will be no Sounder commuter rail service between Tacoma and Seattle for the Thursday morning commute. People may take buses from their train stations instead. No decision has yet been made about the afternoon service.

Eastern Washington problems

Spokane, already beset by more than 6 feet of snow in the past three weeks, was hit with rain and temperatures in the mid-40s. The weather service issued a flood warning for the area and cautioned that rain-saturated snow would place even more weight on rooftops that could collapse.

Icy roads and pools of melting snow snarled the morning commute and prompted Spokane schools to again close, giving 29,000 students a second unscheduled day off this week. City schools were also closed for Thursday.

In Metaline Falls in northeast Washington, six wild elk that took refuge from winter weather in an old hay storage barn were killed when the snow-laden roof collapsed.

The state Fish and Wildlife Department said 20 elk had sought refuge in the barn on Tuesday. The area has been pounded by more than 6 feet of snow this winter, and dozens of roofs have collapsed. Officers said it was rare for elk to be so desperate that they would enter a barn.

Storm continues over NW Oregon

A winter storm sent heavy rain and strong winds into Oregon's northwest corner, but the area managed to avoid the mudslides and severe flooding that battered neighboring Washington.

But Oregon's luck might run out. The rain intensified in the evening and was expected to continue until 4 a.m. Thursday, dumping another 2 to 3 inches of precipitation on the Coast Range.

The National Weather Service posted flood warnings for the Wilson River, lower Nehalem River and Trask River in Tillamook County, meaning flooding is imminent or in progress.

A flood watch is in effect for all of northwest Oregon.

The rivers had already been rising because of the rapid snowmelt.

High wind warnings are in effect and the threat of landslide remains.

The good news is that once the deluge is over, the region will have plenty of time to dry. Little or no rain is forecast for the next week to 10 days.

High water on the highway closed U.S. 101 to passenger cars just south of Seaside, and flooding closed some less popular roads.

U.S. 26 was closed along a 22-mile stretch in Central Oregon after high winds toppled trees.

Oregon Highway 35 was closed for a time to truck traffic from Government Camp to Parkdale because high winds and blowing debris created hazardous driving conditions. Oregon 216 between Maupin and Warm Springs was similarly closed.