Finney Creek flooded the front yards and then the road and then the homes on the opposite side of the street of N. Lake Samish Drive from a mixture of rain and melting snow.  Area resident Fred Sexton said the normally negligible creek damaged several homes and ripped up about a quarter-mile of pavement on Wednesday, Jan. 7, before firefighters and volunteers got it back under control with sandbags.  Sexton said the creek pushed about two feet of water into the spare bedroom in his daylight basement, then undermined a 100-foot-tall cedar tree that toppled onto the roof of the garage of a new 3,000-square-foot home he had been building next door.

Later in the week Whatcom County road crews were at work Friday, Jan. 9, repairing a gaping hole in North Lake Samish Drive, after Finney Creek bypassed a plugged culvert. Not only was the street name sign missing but so was the road, with a new water feature in its place! You really need to hear the roar of the water to fully appreciate and grasp what's happened here.

Whatcom County estimated the damage would cost around $175,000 to repair.


Sources: Komo News (gaiatrek) and Bellingham Herald (John Stark) 

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