Evacuations ordered in Pacific as White River levee fails

PACIFIC, Wash. — People in the city of Pacific have been told to evacuate now due to a levee failure on the White River.

The evacuation zone is from Ellingson Road, down past Third Avenue, and along the White River to County Line Road SW.

If you are in low-lying areas along the river, you should move to higher ground immediately.

Some neighborhoods are ordered to leave immediately, with evacuations underway this morning.

The leak was first identified at 12:08 a.m. on Tuesday, and emergency crews quickly went ahead and issued the alert.

According to crews on the scene, the break is 40-50 feet.

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At around 1:40 a.m., the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for White River levee failure.

The King County Sheriff’s Guardian One helicopter could be seen flying overhead neighborhoods, telling people to “evacuate, get out now.”

KIRO 7’s Brooke Griffin is on the scene, reporting that there are a lot of houses and apartment buildings in this very residential area.

Rescue teams and community members are on the scene with large trucks, helping pull people out of the affected areas.

California task force rescue teams from Menlow Park, Sacramento, and Oakland are among the emergency crews that are going door to door to make sure everyone is out and safe.

Officials say repairs, including putting giant sandbags in the break, will take several hours.

The Army Corps of Engineers is working on stabilizing the water flow.

Griffin reports that there is an HESCO barrier along this area to prevent this, but it can’t protect from a leak.

Officials say they’ve been monitoring this area 24/7 for the past week.

KIRO 7 is live from that area today. We’ll continue to update this story with any new developments, and watch live on kiro7.com at 4:30, 5, and 6 a.m. for the latest.

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