As floodwaters surged through the Pacific Northwest last week, the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia became one of the first organizations to mobilize disaster relief — applying for early grants and opening assistance to anyone in affected communities, not just Episcopalians.
“We are reminded again and again — and especially during this season of Advent — that the one we are waiting for will be called ‘Emmanuel,’ God with us,” said the Rt. Rev. Philip LaBelle in a Thursday email to the diocese. “As Christian disciples, we are called to bring the peace of Christ” to those experiencing difficulty, he added.
The diocese’s swift response reflects a broader pattern of community solidarity across Snohomish County, where neighbors with vastly different political views set aside tensions to help one another through record-breaking floods.
An atmospheric river swept through the region, causing four rivers to break crest records. The Snohomish River peaked at 34.15 feet, surpassing its 1990 record of 33.5 feet. The Stillaguamish River reached 20.17 feet — just over a foot below its 2023 record.
Episcopal Diocese mobilizes aid
The diocese applied for a grant immediately to distribute gift cards and financial assistance throughout affected communities. Episcopal Relief and Development jumped in right away to assist.
“These funds will help us distribute gift cards or financial gifts to anyone in those wider communities who need support — not just to Episcopalians,” LaBelle said.
At Chinook Farms in Snohomish, owned by St. John’s Episcopal Church parishioner Eric Fritch, floodwaters completely submerged the property. The farm, which provides fresh produce exclusively to local food banks through a ministry of The Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross in Redmond, saw all its buildings submerged — though livestock escaped to higher ground.
Jane Berard, parish administrator at St. John, said she expects the church community will make plans to help with cleanup at the farm, where they hold their annual summer picnic.
By Saturday afternoon, parishioners had evacuated across the diocese, including in Mount Vernon, Chehalis, Snoqualmie, Snohomish, Rockport and Darrington. LaBelle encouraged financial donations rather than physical items to give agency to those impacted.
As of Thursday, 800 people had been told to evacuate within unincorporated Snohomish County, according to Emergency Management Director Lucia Schmit. Thirty-nine people sheltered with the American Red Cross along with eight pets at the Evergreen State Fair Park, while 98 stayed at seven cold-weather shelters.
Emergency stabling for livestock was also provided at the fairgrounds: 171 horses, 104 cattle, 94 goats, 16 pigs, 140 chickens, three rabbits and two turkeys.
A second atmospheric river arrived in the Pacific Northwest on Monday. The Snohomish River was forecast to crest at 18.61 feet, and the Stillaguamish River at 5.88 feet on Wednesday and Thursday.
Editor’s note: Forecasted river crest levels updated as of 12pm EST, Dec. 16, 2025.
Romance bookstore offers shelter in Snohomish
Eternal Endings, a family-owned romance bookstore in Historic Downtown Snohomish, nestled on the upper floor of Le Menagerie — proved itself to be a shelter where people were welcomed to stop by for complimentary drinks and a place to recharge and get warm.
Co-owner Allie Summers said one of the things she’s always enjoyed about Snohomish is how people show up for one another no matter their beliefs or politics, noting her community is divided 50-50 politically.
“That was really proven this last weekend. There’s so much controversy right now going on in the world, and when push came to shove, everybody zipped their lips and just helped their neighbor. And that is what I think at the end of the day we were all missing,” Summers said.
Allie Summers’ sister, Cece Summers, and their mother Amanda Warren opened their store to the public on July 1, 2025.
Cece Summers is behind much of the social media and was responsible for a TikTok comment left at 10:35 a.m. Thursday, inviting community members to come to the store for shelter with complimentary cocoa and coffee available.
“We have very similar visions for how we want this business to kind of operate. If one person makes a decision, we’re gonna back it regardless. So, like, while she didn’t reach out and say, ‘Hey, are you guys okay with that?’ That’s always kind of been something we’ve been okay with since the beginning. We just want to be a safe, comfortable, cute place for people to come hang out, read, drink a coffee, do whatever. Like, you know, you don’t have to buy anything to come hang out. We just want to talk about books at the end of the day,” Allie Summers said.
Allie Summers said on average there were about 10-15 people in the store at any given moment seeking warmth and shelter, or to charge their electronics, since some had lost power. With about 200-300 walking into the store throughout the weekend.
“It was surprisingly pretty busy, like we really expected it to be much slower, just because there was only one road in and out,” Allie Summers said.
Allie Summers said they were confident the flooding wouldn’t reach the business since the flood water would have had to rise about 20 more feet to reach First Street, but the family’s ability to make it in, or make it home, was a concern. All three live in Bothell.
“We were more worried about the bridge going down. Highway 9 was closed. They started closing all the roads leading into Snohomish. We saw it happen with Carnation and Duval, like all of these cities that just basically turned into these little isolated islands, because there was no way in or out,” Allie Summers said.
The flood plains are home: Impacts from the Stillaguamish River
Jennifer Duncan lives near the Stillaguamish River, on a small farm just outside of Silvana, Washington. She has quite a few animals on the property including chickens, ducks, turkeys, goats and several larger livestock.
The area is a flood plain, which Duncan said everyone knows comes with a level of risk. Although, it’s not the same risk she thought it was when she moved in about 8 1/2 years ago.
“It is hard to process the longer-term implications of the upward trends in flooding we’ve seen in the valleys over the past few years. The trends are sobering to look at, and now only expected to get worse. This was not the case when we moved here, and it was certainly not the case for people who have been in the valley for much longer,” Duncan said.
Duncan’s youngest daughter is in high school. Maggie Hurtado splits time between parents’ houses, and she is usually picked up by her mom after school on Thursdays to make the hour drive from Seattle to the farm.
Duncan called her daughter on Wednesday to tell her that she wouldn’t be able to pick her up from school the next day, and if she wanted to be at the farm she’d have to go that night.
“I honestly thought it wouldn’t be that big of a deal because in past years it hasn’t been nearly as bad. When me and my dad got to the usual exit leading to the farm, the road was closed. We tried the next exit and that road was also closed, so we had to take this alternative route off of a further exit. When we finally got to our road, it was closed,” Hurtado said.
Hurtado ended up hurriedly crossing the closed road on foot to make it to the house, as Duncan came running from the other side to help her.
“The water was coming very quickly over the road when we were running, and it was a little below knee level at the deepest. We ended up getting to the car and being able to drive over the rest of the water in time, but it was honestly really stressful because if we went any slower or if I got there any later our car could have been stuck or we could have been stuck,” Hurtado said.
The pair went to bed on Wednesday hoping for the best for the animals and property. The Stillaguamish River crested around 3 feet lower than predicted. When Hurtado woke up on Thursday she decided to go out in her boots to see how deep it was.
“I had to stop even before the water went over my boots because the water was rushing so fast I was worried about being knocked over. I think the scariest part for me was the speed at which the water was moving at. Usually the floods are sort of exciting for me because I know that everyone will be OK, and it’s kind of just an interesting weather event.
“This year it was much scarier and more serious for me. It was also pretty scary not being able to get out. I am so grateful that everything on our farm was okay for the most part. I feel so horrible for all of the other farms and houses in Washington and even just around our neighborhood who were not so lucky,” Hurtado said.
Duncan points to 20- to 30-year climate models, which suggest a scary picture for the Cascade River valley. This also impacts the home’s market value.
“This totally blows, both for people who had expected themselves and their families to live here for generations more, and also for those who now realize the best decision is to leave,” Duncan said.
While the valley’s future looks bleak, the community doesn’t. Duncan said that the floods seem to melt away the tensions built up over time among neighbors with very different political and social perspectives.
“I am blown away by the ways that people here and in the Skagit Valley and in the Snohomish Valley have come together to help each other. This is the stuff that restores one’s faith in humanity,” Duncan said.
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