KITTITAS COUNTY

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

Kirk Holmes, Director

MEMORANDUM

To: Board of County Commissioners, and Emergency Operations

From: Kirk Holmes, Director of Public Works, Dan Davis, Building Official

Date: January 23, 2009

Subject: Flood Damage Recovery Update

This memo is broken down into two segments. Our first discussion addresses the
Building Departments efforts to compile the Individual Damage Assessments according
to FEMA and State Emergency Management practices to private properties throughout
Kittitas County. It will be followed by the Department of Public Works efforts
surrounding the Preliminary Damage Assessments for Infrastructure, county wide.

FEMA REPORT:

Extent of damages to homes.

A formal property damage assessment was completed by Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA), Small Business Authority (SBA) and the State
Emergency Management Division (EMD) on January 20-21, 2009 for the entire
area of Kittitas County, including all of the damages from the incorporated cities
of Ellensburg, Cle-Elum and Roslyn. During this PDA (Property Damage
Assessment) a total of 302 structures were surveyed for damage. This team
reported the following numbers for Kittitas County:

Destroyed: 5
Major Damage: 77
Minor Damage: 59
Affected: 161
TOTAL: 302

Damage Overview:

Kittitas County (unincorporated): Approximately 200 homes were affected by the

recent flooding and mud-slides in the unincorporated areas of Kittitas County.
The County completed ATC-45 evaluations for many of the affected homes. Of

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this total, 4 homes were posted as “unsafe” and sustained “major damage” or
were “destroyed.” Two of these homes are located at Snoqualmie Pass and
were heavily damaged as a result of a massive snow/mudslide. Approximately
140 homes were posted as “restricted use”. These homes were damaged by
water infiltration to either the mechanical system, electrical system and/or had
water above the floor level. A Number of homes experienced basement flooding
in areas that had never flooded before. The remainder of the structures received
limited damage. There were approximately 80 homes that experienced water
at or over the floor in the unincorporated areas of Kittitas County (this does
not include the incorporated cities).

The Elk Meadows development, located between Cle-Elum and Easton, was
one of the hardest hit areas in the County. There were 2 homes in Elk
Meadows posted “unsafe.” Roughly 77 homes in this development area
were posted “restricted use”. Approximately 50 homes had water at or
over the floor and of this total approximately 25 had water over the outlets.
The Yakima River inundated a very large portion of this development community.
Numerous homes received extensive water damage. The bridge to the north
side of the river was washed out and many residents were stranded for several
days. The bridge has been temporarily repaired and posted with a weight
restriction. Many of the roads in the Elk Meadows development were damaged.
The Group A water system was damaged and is not fully repaired. This
development was constructed in the 1960’s and early 1970’s, it is an area that
experiences repeated flood damage and would be an excellent area for a flood
mitigation project.

INCIDENT SEQUENCE:

Heavy snow fall during the latter part of December, leading into a warm trend with
rain, caused local Streams and Rivers to flow at capacity. Ground saturation met
head to head with previous snow management efforts, resulting in wide spread
flooding and mud slides. By Sunday January 4, 2009 flood warnings were issued
and governmental notifications were initiated.

Wednesday Morning, January 7, 2009 County Emergency Management personnel

met with department heads and determined that imminent flooding would impact
private homes, transportation, commercial & industrial operations as well as creating
substantial risk to the public.

Recent flooding and mud-slides were widespread throughout Kittitas County but;
generally, the event was most concentrated from the Pacific Crest and the north end
of the County and extending down along the northwest, west and southwest side of

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the County. The northeast, east and southeast sides of the County received little or
no flooding and/or mud-slides (see the attached maps).

The following drainages were most affected:

Yakima River: The Yakima River was above flood stage for entire length of the river
extending from the Lake Keechelus and Lake Kachees to the South end of the
County (see attached flood gage data table). The Yakima River left the stream
channel at numerous locations along the channel course. In addition, numerous
side drainages that empty into the Yakima River were above flood stage. There
were isolated mud-slides along the Yakima River drainage. The largest mud-slide
occurred at Snoqualmie Pass at the Hyak Ski Resort. At this location, an
approximately 300 foot wide mud and debris flow occurred on the main ski hill; this
was a massive event.

Teanaway River: The Teanaway River was above flood stage. Numerous side
drainages that enter this river were flooding and there were many mud-slides in the
Teanaway River drainage. At the lower end of the drainage, near Highway 970, the
Teanaway River did some major re-channelization work and heavily impacted the
roadbed. At the area close to where the river enters the Yakima River, near
Lambert Road, the Teanaway experienced major out of channel flooding. Near
where the Teanaway River crosses under Highway 970, Red Bridge road
experienced extensive damage due to runoff and mudslides from the slope above.

Cle-Elum Ridge: Many smaller seasonal or year round streams experienced

flooding on the hills situated to the north above the towns of Ronald, Roslyn and
Cle-Elum. The geology of these hills is largely underlain by sandstone and the
heavy precipitation could to infiltrate into the already saturated soil. Many of these
small streams flooded and caused damage as they entered the towns and other
rural areas next to Highway 903. None of this area is considered in a floodplain and
none of the affected structures was covered by flood insurance.

Ellensburg Valley: Numerous smaller streams that begin in the hills to the north of
Ellensburg flooded once they reached the flat valley floor. The following streams
flooded: Reecer Creek, Dry Creek, Currier Creek, Wilson Creek and Mercer Creek.
These streams all converged on the west side of Ellensburg and caused major
flooding in the neighborhood knows and “West Ellensburg”. While this area of
Ellensburg has a history of flooding, a number of homes in this area experienced
flooding for the first time and were not covered by flood insurance.

The following table illustrates the severity of the flood event, as compared to
historical flood data. The 2009 event was the third highest on record since 1948:

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USGS 12484500 YAKIMA RIVER AT UMTANUM, WA

Flood Stage: 35.5 feet
YEAR FLOW (cfs) HEIGHT
1906 41,100 41.20
1933 32,200 Not recorded
1948 27,200 38.98
1960 19,100 37.08
1975 16,600 36.50
1980 16,800 36.54
1977 21,500 37.63
1990 22,800 37.93
1996 27,200 38.77
2009 22,500 37.82

In summary:
The damage was concentrated in the following areas: Yakima River
drainage from Easton to Thrall Road; Teanaway River Valley and along
Hwy 970; small streams north of Ellensburg (Reecer Creek, Dry Creek,
Mercer Creek and Wilson Creek); West Ellensburg and; small stream on
Cle-Elum Ridge that drain through towns of Ronald, Roslyn and Cle-Elum.
The Elk Meadows development, located between Cle-Elum and Easton,
was one of the hardest hit areas in the County. There were 2 homes in
Elk Meadows posted “unsafe.” Roughly 77 homes in this development
area were posted “restricted use”. Approximately 50 homes had water at
or over the floor and of this total approximately 25 had water over the
outlets. The Yakima River inundated a very large portion of this
development community. Numerous homes received extensive water
damage. The bridge to the north side of the river was washed out and
many residents were stranded for several days.
The residential area of West Ellensburg was heavily impacted and
flooding was widespread.
Many of the homes flooded were outside of a designated “floodplain” area
and had never received flooding before and the owners do not carry flood
insurance.
The FEMA, SBA and EMD representatives were very impressed with the
work that the County accomplished to identify the damaged structures and
they commented that there is no way they could have found all of the
dispersed damaged structures without our assistance.

PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE

As of January 23, 2009 all systems including roads, bridges and county owned
levees have been inspected by county engineers and representatives of the US
Army Corps of Engineers (ACE). County staff and local contractors have been

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working seven days a week to make repairs on the road system since the
damage occurred. The County Road Department will be touring the area with
representatives of FEMA, State EMD beginning next week. Currently there are
four (4) segments of the Kittitas County road system closed to travel. They are
as follows:

Smithson Road from Howard Road to SR 97 due to bridge approach

failures. It is expected that this road will be opened the afternoon of
January 23, 2009.
Lower Green Canyon Road at SR 97. A quarter of a mile section of the
road was damaged beyond immediate repair. The road has been
substantially repaired and is expected to be open for traffic by the
afternoon of January 24, 2009.
Clarke Road at SR97. The bridge at Dry Creek completely washed out
during the flood event. Plans and Specifications have been developed
and is currently out for bid. Project expected to take 30 days to complete.
Estimated date of completion is March 1, 2009.
Ringer Loop Road – Damage to Ringer Loop Road is extensive. Plans
and Specifications are currently being developed and estimated re-
opening is March 1, 2009.

Kittitas County also experienced significant slope failures throughout the areas
described above, most significantly the Red Bridge Road area along the Teanaway
River. These slope failures caused significant damage county-wide to the
transportation infrastructure. A formal analysis is currently underway to determine the
causes of the slope failures in this area to determine the safety of the current slope and
to identify the types of work that can be completed to prevent future slope failure activity
in this area.

Also, the levee system throughout the entire county was hit hard by the high river flows.
County engineers are currently partnering with the Army Corps of Engineers to identify
ways to improve the stability of the current levee and flood protection systems that
protect properties.

A summary of county wide damage assessments, by jurisdiction is as follows:

Kittitas County $3,192,500

City of Ellensburg $75,391
City of Cle Elum $304,027
City of South Cle Elum $91,721
City of Roslyn $111,630
Total County Wide Damages $3,775,269

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Included in these costs are damages to road systems, water control facilities, public
buildings and equipment, utilities, and parks and open spaces. The cost estimates also
include the clearing of debris and protective measures taken during the height of the
flood fighting efforts.

When all inspections have been completed by FEMA, State EMD and the SBA, the
estimates will be collated by those departments on the county’s behalf and
submitted to the Office of the President of the United States for consideration of
relief. This form of relief would be a Presidential Disaster Declaration which
would trigger a formal FEMA response to Kittitas County. As this time, we have
been advised this declaration could take days or weeks. County staff will advise
as soon as that information becomes available.

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205 West 5 , Rm 108 TEL (509) 962-7523
Ellensburg, WA 98926 FAX (509) 962-7663