Heavy rains, high tides and a storm surge combined to wreak watery havoc across the North Olympic Peninsula on Monday.
A slide of mud and debris closed one lane of U.S. Highway 101 near Fisher Cove Road at Lake Crescent, 16 miles west of Port Angeles, but work crews had reopened the highway to traffic in both directions by Monday afternoon.
The Hood Canal Bridge also was closed from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. Monday by winds gusting to 40 mph.
At mid-afternoon, whitecaps whipped up by a southerly wind were spraying eastbound cars and trucks.
Meanwhile, a mile of state Highway 110 at Ballard Road between Forks and LaPush was closed to traffic by the flooding Bogachiel River, isolating the Quileute Reservation.
The state Department of Transportation had no estimate when it would reopen.
Forks schools out early
Quillayute Valley School District schools dismissed students early so they would not be cut off by floodwaters, and the U.S. Coast Guard rescued a couple and their pets from their home east of LaPush.
The Bogachiel was expected to crest at 42.7 feet — nearly 6 feet above flood stage — and recede after midnight, according to Clallam County Emergency Management Director Bob Martin
Before then, swift water may inundate residential areas in the valley near the Bogachiel River Bridge, and homes and businesses in LaPush near the mouth of the river, he said.
Along the Sol Duc River, at least two homes were surrounded by high water, and the Hoko River was near flooding Monday afternoon.
Five miles of state Highway 112 were closed from Pillar Point Road to Green Creek east of Clallam Bay when the Pysht River sent water over the road.
The state had no estimate of when the road — the Juan de Fuca Scenic Byway — would be reopened.
Jefferson County flooding
Jefferson County officials reported that the Hoh River reached the 10-year flood level at noon Monday, inundating the lower housing area of the Hoh Reservation.
Tribal members, helped by inmates from Olympic Corrections Center, sandbagged around critical buildings.
Jefferson public works officials said Upper Hoh Road at milepost 4 had been damaged, and water had flooded Clearwater Road.
The Dosewallips and Duckabush rivers were running high, with considerable debris in the rivers, but had stayed within their banks.
Clallam County declared a Level 3 readiness warning as rivers west of Port Angeles continued to rise. The warning called for increased watchfulness on rising rivers, heavy swells in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and high surf on the Pacific coast.
As of Monday evening, Martin said, closed and hazardous roads included:
* Old LaPush Road.
* Kallman Road.
* West Lake Pleasant Road; water over the road at Lake Pleasant.
* Smith Road, water over the road.
* State Highway 113 near Beaver Lake; 6 inches of water over the road. Drivers were advised to slow down and proceed with caution.
Clallam County Public Works Director Craig Jacobs said this first storm of the season had sent autumn leaves and windblown tree limbs into drainage ditches and carried them into culverts, which became blocked.
County culvert crew
Besides crews responding to crises, one county crew was patrolling county roads and clearing obstacles where they found them, Jacobs said.
“We probably have more than 2,000 culverts,” he said, so some backups were inevitable.
The Elwha River on the Lower Elwha Klallam Reservation had overtopped its dikes by Monday afternoon.
It was expected to crest at 21.7 feet — 1.7 feet above flood stage — but fall below flood stage after midnight, Martin said.
By then it may have flooded pastures and residential areas near the mouth.
Clallam County commissioners, who had expected to approve a mutual-aid emergency services agreement with the tribe during commissioners’ formal meeting today, instead adopted it at their work session Monday.
“I think because of the current weather conditions, we need to do this right away,” said Commissioner Mike Doherty, D-Port Angeles.
In eastern Clallam County, the Dungeness River was expected to reach flood stage overnight, with the storm surge traveling as far as half a mile up the river’s estuary.
The flood warning for the Dungeness was extended through this morning.
Ridge Road closed
Olympic National Park closed Hurricane Ridge Road due to rocks on the road.
Other closures in the park include:
* Olympic Hot Springs Road, closed at the Elwha entrance station.
* Hoh Road, closed at milepost 3 (outside the park).
* Quinault North Shore Road, closed east of Finley Creek by bridge damage.
* Quinault South Shore Road, closed outside the park boundary.
* Quinault Graves Creek Road and Quinault North Fork Road, both closed.
* Queets Road, closed.
* Road to Rialto Beach, closed.
* Mora Campground, closed.
* Dosewallips and Staircase roads remain closed due to previous damage and unsafe conditions.
* Deer Park Road, closed for the season.
* Sol Duc Road, Kalaloch and Lake Crescent areas remain open, but travel is discouraged because of heavy rain, limited visibility and the risk of flooding and rockfall.
Monday afternoon brought a respite from the rain in Port Angeles, but Martin said, “These [weather] systems are coming in one after another.
“The weather reports show more rain tonight, so it could well get worse before it gets better.”
