Flooding caused by heavy rain continues in Washington state. Several airports located near rivers are dealing with rising water levels, while others are being used as staging areas for rescue operations.
Temporary flight restrictions are in place over the Skagit Valley near the community of Cedro Woolley as of Thursday morning. Local law enforcement is using helicopters to rescue people trapped by the rapidly rising Skagit River.
The river level is expected to reach 36 feet Thursday night, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). County officials recommended that people living in the century-old flood plain move to higher ground immediately.
At Harvey Field (S43) in South Snohomish, volunteers, many from EAA Chapter 84, spent hours moving unflyable aircraft to the highest point on the airport between hangars.
The airport has been owned by the Harvey family since 1944 and has experienced flooding before. A levee was built along the Snohomish River in the late 1990s to protect low-lying areas, including the airport, but video captured by Washington weather trackers around 7:30 a.m. showed the river overflowing the levee north of the airport.
Video taken from the air by Long Bach Nguyen, a Washington search and rescue pilot and professional photographer, shows how close the floodwaters came to the airport.
Meanwhile, south of Renton, city officials warned residents that the Cedar River “will cause significant flooding in Renton, particularly at the Renton Airport. Flooding will occur along the river, including at headwaters, tributaries and other streams in and near the Cedar River watershed.”
The Cedar River, located on the east side of the airport, has flooded the airport before, most recently in 2020.
Renton Airport Manager Manny Cruz said that as of Thursday morning, the airport was open and the runways were in use, but some surrounding roads were closed due to flooding.
This is an ongoing story and will be updated.
