PACIFIC, Wash. — This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
Residents forced from their homes by Tuesday’s HESCO barrier failure will likely have to wait until the weekend before they can return, Pacific Mayor Vic Kave said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
That is not what displaced families wanted to hear. An estimated 600 to 1,000 people from 220 homes are now staying in shelters, with relatives, or in the upper floors of flooded houses. The crisis is far from over: another major storm is expected overnight, and Mud Mountain Dam continues releasing water to keep the reservoir from overtopping.
“We are heartbroken to report 220 residences were affected by this event,” Kave said earlier Tuesday in a Facebook post. “Multiply that by 3 or 5 — that is how many people we are working to accommodate.”
Kave said officials will evaluate returns on a case-by-case basis depending on conditions and whether individual homes were directly flooded. For now, everyone waits.
Third Avenue likely closed all winter
Even when residents do return, their neighborhood will look different.
Third Avenue SE runs adjacent to the HESCO barriers and parallel to the White River. It is now severely damaged, with asphalt breaking apart under the stress of the flooding. Kave said the road will likely remain closed for most of the winter.
Tuesday afternoon, police blocked Skinner Road at Third Avenue SE in the heart of the evacuation zone. Beyond the barricade, the street that residents use every day to get to work, to school, to the grocery store, sat empty and impassable.
The Pacific levee breach is the latest in a series of King County and Washington state flooding emergencies this week, as western Washington weathers its worst December storms in decades
How Pacific’s HESCO barrier failed in under 30 seconds
Kave described the terrifying speed of the failure at his Tuesday afternoon press conference. A patrol team witnessed it in real time early Tuesday morning. It started as a small leak, like water from a hose, and the barrier came apart in under 30 seconds, Kave said.
The breach occurred before 1:30 a.m., causing damage comparable to the 2009 flood despite lower water flows this time. The underlying problem, Kave explained, is that the White River has filled with sediment over the years, drastically reducing how much water it can carry. The city park now sits below river level.
Deep scouring along the original levee, measuring four feet deep by 20 feet wide, allowed water to infiltrate the park and overwhelm the HESCO barriers.
“What started as a trickle, noticed by one of the overnight spotters, quickly turned into a multi-unit HESCO failure,” Kave stated in his Facebook post. “Pacific officers and Valley Regional Fire Authority went door to door advising residents of the Go Now status. They were in waist-deep water at times.”
The King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Guardian One was deployed to broadcast Level 3 evacuation orders from the air. City staff had the first shelter space opened by 1:45 a.m.
What is a HESCO barrier?
HESCO barriers are large, collapsible wire mesh containers lined with heavy fabric and filled with sand or soil.
They are used as temporary flood control structures to protect communities from rising water.
Level 3 evacuation: Pacific residents describe chaotic early morning
I live about a mile southeast of where the levee breach occurred, up on a hill overlooking the White River valley. I was waking up around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, to prepare for “Seattle’s Morning News,” when I heard helicopters circling outside.
By 3 a.m., I had made my way to the scene near 3rd Avenue and Spencer Court. Neighbors, many still in their pajamas, had gathered at the river’s edge trying to make sense of what was happening. Social media videos shared by residents show flooded parking lots with water rising higher than car tires.
“It’s crazy.” Neighbors are gathering here in Pacific as evacuation order issued. They say they were told a tree fell on the levee on the White River here. Now breached. I’ve seen several families in cars evacuating. Multiple helicopters can be heard overhead. #wawx pic.twitter.com/qztwsImXja
— Charlie Harger, KIRO Newsradio (@KIROCharlie) December 16, 2025
White River flooding catches longtime Pacific residents off guard
One man I spoke with said the evacuation order surprised longtime residents.
“We’ve never been alerted to evacuate before,” he said. “The flood we had here in ’09, it came across the street and filled the park up and all that. And there was no warning to evacuate that time. So this is brand new for us.”
How would he describe the situation? “A lot crazy,” he said.
His wife said she was here for the 1984 levee break at the same location. “Yeah, the levee broke—that’s where we’re at now,” she said.
Natalia, who lives on 3rd Avenue South, said the emergency alert jolted her household awake.
“Everybody jumped up wondering what’s happening,” she said.
After a week of relentless rain and record flooding across western Washington, she thought Pacific was through the worst of it.
“No, not at all,” she said when I asked if she expected this. “We actually thought we were kind of getting better around here.”
HESCO breach now plugged, but atmospheric river approaching overnight
Crews worked through the day on a two-phase repair plan, Kave said: first, reinforce the original levee where scouring occurred to stop water from filling the park, then plug the breach once water levels dropped.
Emergency crews used super sacks, large bags holding roughly one cubic yard of sand each, moved into place by heavy equipment. The breach is now plugged. The patch is not as high as the original HESCO barriers, but it sits above the water level at the time of the breach. Reinforcement work is scheduled for Wednesday.
The question now is whether the patch will hold through another night of heavy rain as the latest atmospheric river moves through western Washington.
Kelly Hawks, a spokesperson for Valley Regional Fire Authority, said crews are ready to expand evacuations if needed.
“We’re monitoring the situation, and if we need to evacuate more, we’ll make sure that information gets out to the people that need it,” Hawks said.
Mayor frustrated by people climbing on barriers, launching kayaks
Kave expressed frustration that throughout the week, people had been climbing on the HESCO barriers and even launching kayaks into the water on the other side. He said there is no way to know whether this activity contributed to the breach, but emphasized that rules exist for a reason.
Spectators continue to get in the way of emergency crews trying to work, Kave said, and many of them don’t even live in the affected area.
The city is prepared to enforce penalties, including civil fines up to $500 and arrest if individuals refuse to cooperate.
“Right now, we need people to stay away from the flooded area to allow repair,” Kave said in his Facebook post. “Curious people are stopping and slowing down critical equipment, machines, and personnel the room they need to repair the breach.”
17-year-old ‘temporary’ flood system needs permanent fix
Senator Maria Cantwell has reached out to the city. Kave noted that the HESCO system was supposed to be temporary when it was installed 17 years ago. It clearly needs a permanent replacement, he said, but that discussion will have to wait until the emergency passes.
King County now has 24/7 patrols walking the HESCO barriers from Auburn to the King-Pierce County line, with three teams of two working eight-hour shifts.
Alpac Elementary, located within the evacuation zone, was closed Tuesday. District officials have not yet announced whether the school will reopen Wednesday.
Emergency shelters open for Pacific flood evacuees
Those impacted by the White River flooding can find emergency shelter at the Pacific Senior Center on 3rd Avenue. Residents should monitor the city’s Facebook page and sign up for E-notify alerts on the city website for updates.
Auburn, Sumner, Algona, Bonney Lake, Federal Way, King and Pierce counties, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and volunteers have stepped up to help, delivering food, blankets, diapers, sandbags, and heavy equipment.
“We cannot thank them enough,” Kave said. “Pacific residents’ safety is my top priority.”
With Mud Mountain Dam releases continuing, a temporary patch holding back the White River, and another atmospheric river bearing down overnight, the next 24 hours will determine whether Pacific’s crisis deepens or finally begins to ease.
This story was originally published on December 16, 2025. It has been updated and republished since then.
Charlie Harger is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of his stories and commentaries here. Follow Charlie on X and email him here.
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