La Conner Weekly News - Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

Spring has not come early to La Conner.

But spring cleaning has – out of necessity.

In the aftermath of severe flooding of the town's low-lying areas Dec. 27, residents have been clearing water-damaged items from their garages and homes and building owners and merchants have been removing soaked carpets and merchandise from their commercial properties.

Unlike routine spring-cleanups, this has not been a cathartic exercise. Frustrating is a more apt description.

That frustration could well linger until insurance coverage or state and federal relief arrives to aid those eligible for flood damage compensation.

In the meantime, dumpsters placed in the Town parking lot on South Third Street have been filling with appliances and household items ruined by the saltwater flooding.

Mayor Ramon Hayes said Public Works Director Brian Lease and his crew have been monitoring the large bins to assure that the space remains reserved solely for persons needing to dump flood-damaged items.

Professional cleaning service vans have also been much in evidence around town.

"We've been busy here," an employee of one service, which had been called to the neighborhood near Third and State streets, where a pump had been employed for extended hours to disperse standing water. "We've had four calls here in town today."

The flooding resulted from a "perfect storm" of conditions – a king tide, low barometric pressure, strong winds, steady rain and rapid melt-off from prior heavy snowfall and thick ice.

In the days following, Hayes has conducted walking tours of flood affected areas, assessing the situation and encouraging those impacted to report the extent of damages. He said that between the commercial waterfront and north-end and south-end residential neighborhoods, around 20 properties had sustained significant damage.

"They have been affected to various degrees," he told the Weekly News.

Hayes said the Town is reaching out to state officials for immediate emergency funding help and also as part of developing both short-term and long-range flood control strategies.

Flood control, along with climate change, has been much discussed in recent years here. The Town has committed to constructing a section of dike on the northeast edge of town for protection from the Skagit River and hosted a major conference addressing remedies for sea level rise on Swinomish Channel associated with climate change.

The flooding, which occurred the morning after the Town's designated Christmas holiday, was expected to be addressed during last night's town council session.

The state Department of Commerce established a financial assistance program for businesses damaged by the flood. Go to bit.ly/WADisasterGrant.