Local highway crews were experiencing déjà vu this week, when mudslides came down over Highway 20 east of Loup Loup Pass, in the same area where slides closed the highway almost exactly a year ago.
Highway 20 was closed briefly …
Mudslide
Benson Creek watershed gets state water-quality grant
By Marcy Stamper Since the 2014 Carlton Complex Fire and subsequent mudslides, the Benson Creek watershed has struggled with degraded water quality and increased sediment. A state-funded program will begin to address those issues by planting vegetation and getting more-detailed data about the extent of the damage to creeks and rivers. The $250,000 grant, provided […]
TranGO resumes route over Hwy 20
TranGO, the Okanogan County public transit system, will resume its Twisp-Okanogan connector route on Thursday (July 20) now that Highway 20 over Loup Loup Pass is once again open to traffic 24 hours a day. The Omak-to-Pateros express route will end Thursday, as will TranGO’s additional fifth run on the Twisp to Pateros route. TranGO had […]
Carlton Complex Fire recovery continues three years later
Efforts focused on rebuilding, better communications, preparedness By Marcy Stamper and Ann McCreary Methow Valley residents may have felt an uneasy sense of déjà vu this week as temperatures heated up and smoke drifted into the valley from British Columbia wildfires. Three years ago on July 14, a lightning storm sparked four separate fires — three in […]
Loup Loup Pass re-opened
After being closed for three months to repair damage from mudslides and erosion, Highway 20 over Loup Loup Pass partially opened on Monday (July 10), with one lane of traffic through the two most-damaged locations for a few hours in the morning and evening.
The partial opening allowed commuters between …
Mid-May goal for Highway 20 repairs over the Loup
Highway 20 over Loup Loup Pass is expected to remain closed until at least mid-May, while contractors repair damage from erosion and mudslides that forced the closure of a 16-mile stretch of the highway earlier this month.
On Highway 20 over the North Cascades …
Benson Creek watershed expects irrigation system fix
After eight months of meetings among irrigators, property owners, hydrologists, engineers and fish biologists to deal with the effect of floods and mudslides in the Benson Creek watershed, the group is close to a resolution to fix the damaged irrigation system.
The group may also study the hydrology of the larger watershed next year.
Flash flood, mud hit Texas Creek property again
Ron and Cheryl Race are digging out again from a flash flood that deposited mud and debris at their Texas Creek property for the second time in less than three months.
The flooding, which also spilled over Highway 153 at Leecher Creek near Carlton, is a legacy of last summer’s Carlton …
New rain gauges will give early flood warnings
By Ann McCreary
New rain gauges are being installed within the Carlton Complex Fire boundaries to provide an early warning system for flash floods. Approximately 15 rain gauges will be placed throughout the …
Dispute slows Highway 153 repairs
By Ann McCreary
Repair work on a washout at Benson Creek on State Highway 153 has been slowed because an adjacent property owner is not allowing construction crews onto his property.
