Skagit County families in emergency shelters wait out high flood levels

SKAGIT COUNTY, Wash. — Families across Skagit County, especially those upriver along the Skagit River, are waiting it out in emergency shelters before flood levels recede enough so they can return home.

As the Skagit River inched its way past a new record high Thursday night, the flood wall along downtown Mount Vernon held firm. Friday morning, the river started to recede.

But for the residents of eastern communities upriver along Highway 20 — who were evacuated from their homes this week — they now wait with baited breath to see what damage may be left over at their properties.

Emergency shelters were organized in Skagit County, at Concrete High School, Central United Methodist Church, and Bethany Covenant Church.

Organizers at the Central United Methodist Church, which is run by Family Promises, told KOMO News they had 48 people staying at the shelter who were displaced by the flooding on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Robert Gilkey, along with his wife and three kids, were forced to evacuate from their Concrete home on Wednesday, joining many others as water levels rose to near-record highs near the Skagit River gauge in Concrete.

“We started packing our car and moving as much as we could upstairs as quick as we could,” he explained. “As soon as we saw the water pouring in (across the street), we just got in the car and took off.”

The father says he fears the worst for his family, who already suffered a total loss of their home to a fire in Sedro-Woolley a little over a year ago.

Security cameras posted around his home show water covering the entire ground outside his home, now creeping towards the doorways.

“It’s scary, man, I can’t afford to lose everything again,” said Gilkey.

On Thursday, the flood waters led Skagit County Public Works to close 20 impacted roads, with a total of 41 closures since Wednesday morning.

You can view the full list of closures and their specific locations here.

Alongside the Gilkey’s at the same shelter, is Amanda Davenport and her six children.

She says they have seen this same movie play out before from previous flood years at their home in Hamilton; however, this year, they’re more concerned.

“It was a full house renovation after 2021,” explained Davenport. “It was almost more scary, knowing how bad it really is,” she said.

With that previous knowledge, she decided to prepare and pack her family’s things before the evacuation alarms even sounded this week.

“The roads were overflowing, and traffic with everyone evacuating (in 2021, it) was quite difficult, so we chose to leave earlier,” she explained.

But even as the record-breaking forecasts for the Skagit near Concrete fell short of expectations, it was still just shy of matching flood levels in 2021.

It’s why Davenport is waiting to see what the final damage is for their home they’ve had since 2019.

“Our biggest fear, as our family, is if (the water) got to our electrical — because that would leave us displaced much longer that we were originally anticipating,” she said.

Davenport says based on how things have gone in the past, she will likely wait until the weekend for the flood levels to recede enough so she can safely head back home to see where her property stands.