Sequim: Red tape, lack of assistance worry flood victims

SEQUIM — Despite receding floodwaters, the Dungeness River continues to torment at least three property owners who lost acreage earlier this week to the raging river.

The homes of Kaiser Place residents Butch Lauritzen, Connie Ozanne and Mike Lemon were spared from floodwaters that threatened the houses earlier this week downstream of the U.S. Highway 101 bridge.

But the landowners’ back yards were not.

Lauritzen estimates he lost more than a half-acre of land at 166 Kaiser Place to the river.

Erosion estimates for the properties owned by Ozanne and Lemon were unavailable Thursday.

Because their homes were not damaged, the landowners say emergency management officials have told them they are not eligible for financial assistance.

Moreover, the landowners say they may not be allowed to restore their back yards.

The rest of this story appears in the Friday/Saturday Peninsula Daily News Clallam County edition. Click on “Subscribe” to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.

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