SILVANA – Jerry Brekhus wonders what all the fuss is about.
It was raining all over the Marysville-Arlington area on Thanksgiving, but it’s worse in Silvana.
Every year it rains, every year Silvana floods, so what?
Pioneer Highway was flooded about a half-mile east of town. Some trucks were making it through, while other vehicles turned around and went in other directions.
Brekhus was riding his bicycle along Pioneer Highway on Thanksgiving Day. He rode right through a flooded area, while wearing rubber wader boots often seen on fishermen on rivers. While not normal bike-riding attire, it was just right for the occasion.
“It happens every year. We’re used to it,” he said.
Brekhus knows it’s going to happen when people start talking about ski season when it snows in the mountains. “Then it warms up.”
The worst of the flooding took place Wednesday afternoon when the Stillaguamish River was at 19 feet. Flood stage is 14 feet. Brekhus said he rode through a couple feet of water Thursday. “I tried it last night and couldn’t make it,” he said.
The river was a little below flood stage Thursday, but Silvana had standing water in many places because it was taking some time to seep back into the soggy ground.
Silvana Meats was one of the local businesses affected by the flooding. It was closed Wednesday when it was at its worst so customers could not pick up their Thanksgiving turkeys. The business opened very early Thanksgiving Day once the waters receded.
There was also some flooding in Arlington Wednesday near Twin Rivers Park, but the waters were down by Thursday.