Volunteers gather, deliver supplies for people trapped by US 2 closure; part of highway reopens

U.S. 2 across Stevens Pass reopened Thursday afternoon for the first time since Sunday.

Snow and wind knocked down trees and power lines, shutting the highway down for days, between Gold Bar at milepost 32 and the summit.

The closure left people who live in towns like Index, Skykomish, and Baring stranded. Many still have no power and vital supplies were running out.

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Luckily, volunteers took action. Wednesday morning, dozens of good Samaritans gathered at the Gold Bar Family Grocer. Some of them came with water, food and fuel they had purchased the night before at Walmart in Monroe. Some of the purchases were funded by donations through a GoFundMe page.

“It’s a small town, this is what we do. We help those, we help ours,” said Cheryl Peterson, one of the volunteer organizers.

Others arrived asking what they could buy or do to help.

One man, who asked to be only identified as Pat, spent several hundred dollars buying pallets of firewood, which inspired one lumber yard to say that if trucks could get to those who are stranded, they’d donate a cord of wood to help warm those who have been without power for days.

The group of people who are helping say they’ll try to make runs of supplies until the highway is fully reopened.

People who received the much-needed supplies in Skykomish were moved to tears by the volunteers’ efforts.

“I’ve been rationing my generator as all of us have, because we’ve ran out of gasoline and power has been off since Saturday. I’m just amazed, at the support people are showing here,” said Mark Carroll, who lives in Skykomish. “It hit me in the heart,” he said.

Also Wednesday, King County said it and multiple agencies are working with officials in Skykomish to respond to the community’s needs.

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