The rain-swollen Pilchuck River is biting off chunks of land in the North Sound inch by inch, putting more than a dozen homes in danger. In the last 24 hours, the Pilchuck River has claimed three more trees.
Scroll down to continue reading
More news from KIRO 7
- 2 die in surf while digging for clams on Washington beaches
- Father and daughter charged with incest 20 years after adoption
- Scammers stealing phone numbers from T-Mobile customers to steal money
- Son charged with killing elderly father kept the shell casing in pocket as 'keepsake'
- Video shows Auburn teacher shoving student
Rebecca Wilson was digging up the trees that she and her husband planted to try to stabilize their property on the banks of the Pilchuck River.
"We've lost 20 trees in the last 16 hours," Wilson said.
The root balls of some of those trees were visible. Now, Wilson and her husband worry that structures on their property will succumb to the river next.
"My husband works from home and that's his office," she said. "So all of his equipment was up there. We spent a lot of time trying to get as much out as we can to save what we can."
The Wilsons are not alone. The Pilchuck River is slowly stealing the property of about 16 homeowners. Julie Morgan lives upriver from Rebecca Wilson and says homeowners have been frustrated by the reaction of officials from Snohomish County.
"They probably won't do anything unless someone actually loses their house," said Morgan. "See, that's what they say."
The county suggested that the homeowners form a flood control district to raise the money to fix the problems. But homeowners said they don't have what it would cost to hold the Pilchuck River back.
"So, on one end, you're going to be eaten by the river. Or the other, you're going to go bankrupt and you're not going to be able to afford your mortgage," said homeowner Marek Novy.
Snohomish County Public Works director Steve Thomsen spoke to KIRO 7 via telephone. He said the county is doing what it can to help.
Cox Media Group
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/DV3D5PBQIZFEPANBGDDAZHIA5I.jpg)
:quality(70)/d1hfln2sfez66z.cloudfront.net/03-07-2024/t_a04eea43993e4d4a91177d329640b460_name_Tran_6p_Everett_Woman_homicide_LL_pkg_frame_22938.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/S4SNOQ77ZVDTXG27XH54SSUUYE.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/Z2YSIUIXHZFFJJXMPIWAQJNF2M.jpeg)
:quality(70)/d1hfln2sfez66z.cloudfront.net/04-19-2024/t_600ce500e3c844d4bbeea4c4631bc649_name_file_960x540_1200_v3_1_.jpg)