Access to Chewuch campgrounds cut off overnight
Heavy rains over the July 4 holiday weekend caused flooding and debris flows in areas below burn scars left by last summer’s fires.
The most serious damage occurred in Conconully, where cabin that was under construction — but almost completed — was demolished by a torrent of water from the 2021 Muckamuck Fire burn scar on Sunday (July 3), Okanogan County Emergency Manager Maurice Goodall said.
Access to and from U.S. Forest Service campgrounds in the West Chewuch was blocked by rushing water on Monday (July 4), cutting off access overnight, he said.
The slide of a steep hillside on Goat Creek Road near Mazama covered the road with water and mud, but the road didn’t wash out and remained passable, Goodall said. Okanogan County Public Works cleared the debris and sent out road sweepers on Tuesday.
No one was trapped or injured by any of the floods or debris flows, Goodall said.
Campgrounds were busy for the Fourth of July weekend, but first responders were able to check on all campers, and many people elected to stay until the roads reopened the following day, Goodall said.
Goodall checked all Forest Service campgrounds in the Conconully area on Sunday, where the water was muddy and rising. Although the surging water washed out a Forest Service road, it remained passable, Goodall said.
When it hit 7.92 feet on Monday, North Fork Salmon Creek, which flows into Conconully, hit a new record, surpassing the previous record of a 7.16-foot crest in 2018, Goodall said.
As the creek swelled with torrential rain on Monday, it made a 90-degree turn and hit a bridge, sending the water coursing down Main Street and straight into Conconully, Goodall said. The flood mostly carried water, but also mud and debris.
Sheriff’s deputies and other first responders helped campers leave Conconully State Park. Conconully Lake and Reservoir were full, but not overflowing, Goodall said.
On Tuesday, Conconully residents awoke to bright sunshine and began assessing the damage. While many homes and businesses sustained damage from water and mud, only the unfinished cabin was destroyed. The fact that the floodwaters flowed onto a paved road helped minimize the damage, Goodall said. “It’s a mess, is what it is,” he said.
Roads blocked
On Forest Service Road 51, which continues from West Chewuch Road north of Winthrop, floodwaters rendered the road impassable to ordinary vehicles near the Chewuch campground on Monday. After hearing reports that campers were trapped, Forest Service law enforcement officers and firefighters with Okanogan County Fire District 6 made the rounds to notify campers about the situation. Everyone was fine and elected to stay, since the Forest Service said the roads would be cleared on Tuesday, Goodall said.
Videos posted on social media show fast water flowing across Forest Service Road 51 near Andrews Creek. The area is affected by the 2021 Cub Creek 2 burn scar.
The National Weather Service in Spokane received a report that sections of Wolf Creek Road, which is in the path of the Cedar Creek Fire burn scar, were flooded with rocks, mud and debris in places, Meteorologist Steve Bodnar said. There were also reports that Doe Creek, northeast of Mazama, had overflowed its banks and flooded the adjacent road, he said.
On the North Cascades Highway near Washington Pass, a “Volkswagen-sized” boulder blocked the westbound lane on Sunday around 2 p.m., said Lauren Loebsack, Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) communications manager for North Central Washington. The road was still passable and road crews had removed the boulder by 10 p.m., she said.
WSDOT doesn’t know whether the rain caused the rock to fall, but rockfalls and slides typically occur when weather is either really wet or really dry, Loebsack said.
‘Chaotic’ weather
Precipitation sensors near Winthrop and Conconully recorded voluminous rainfall on Sunday and Monday. Near Winthrop, various sensors tallied a total of between 0.5 and 1.6 inches of rainfall on Sunday and Monday, with most falling in short bursts or within a few hours, Bodnar said. “It was pretty chaotic,” he said.
Near Conconully, sensors picked up between 2 and 2.5 inches of rain on Sunday and Monday, including 1.5 to 2 inches on Monday afternoon alone, Bodnar said. The flooding that affected the town of Conconully was propelled by rain on Funk Mountain within the Muckamuck Fire burn scar, he said.
The Methow and Okanogan rivers are holding well, and the muddy water should flush out in a day or two, Goodall said.
Despite numerous thunderstorms on Sunday and Monday, there were no reports of fire starts, Goodall said. Vegetation is still quite wet after an unusually rainy spring, but there is still the possibility of “sleepers” — lightning-ignited fires in trees that smolder for a few days before they’re discovered, Goodall said.
Emergency Management received several calls about illegal fireworks on July 4, Goodall said.
