Worst flood in nearly 30 years. Van Giesen is underwater, closed into W. Richland
· Yahoo NewsVan Giesen Street was under about two feet of water Saturday morning as the Yakima River overflowed its banks and surged into businesses and homes.
It rose to the level considered major flood stage — 16 feet at the Kiona gauge near Benton City — at 3 a.m. Saturday.
Van Giesen was closed to both eastbound and westbound traffic between South 38th Avenue in West Richland and Highway 240 in Richland by 10:30 p.m. Friday, according to a Washington state Department of Transportation official.
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Earlier at least one lane of the roadway had been underwater and closed to traffic.
By late morning Saturday the Kiona gauge measured 16.27 feet, which was expected to be about as high as the river will rise.
The water was forecast to drop to just below 16 feet by Saturday evening.
The Yakima River has not been this high near the Tri-Cities since the February 1996 flood, when the river reached nearly 21 feet at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Kiona gauge, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
Flood reaches Richland
The flooding water was flowing into Richland to the west of the bypass highway in the Van Giesen Street area Saturday morning.
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At the Richland Riders Club, a stream of pickups hauling horse trailers carrying their animals to safety were pulling out of the equestrian boarding and riding facility on Van Giesen Street in Richland before noon Saturday.
Earlier Saturday morning there was just a trickle at the club, but that rose to about three feet before noon.
At the Buckskin Golf Course in Richland, golfers played until dark Friday as owner Jeff Marcum kept an eye on nearby pastures that flood before water reaches his courses.
At 9 p.m., he grew concerned and started moving golf carts out of cart sheds and barely beat the rising water.
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“I was still chasing my tail about three in the morning,” he said.
Water covered the entire course Saturday morning, including the lawn out front and the driving range, and had reached the interior of the pro shop.
This was the first year since he built the business in 1998 on Bronco Lane not far from the Columbia Basin Racquet Club in Richland that flooding has crossed Bronco Lane to the west, he said.
It’s the first time his driving range has been underwater and that he has had water in his buildings, he said.
“We got a whopper this time,” he said.
He was watching the water level on a stake he pounded into the ground and the water was continuing to rise just before noon, he said.
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But he remained optimistic.
Once the water starts to drop, it goes down quickly, he said. He’s hoping to reopen by Christmas.
Another atmospheric river forecast
The Yakima River is expected to drop to just over 11 feet at the Kiona gauge by Tuesday, but then to start to rise again. It could crest at 13.5 feet Friday morning, considered minor flood stage, according to early predictions by the National Weather Service.
Flooding of rivers and streams in the Mid-Columbia was caused by a strong atmospheric river that dumped rain in the Cascade Mountains early in the week, melting snow and swelling rivers.
Another atmospheric river is expected to hit Washington and Oregon Monday. It is not forecast to be as strong or as warm. Heavy snow is expected in the Cascade Mountains.