MOUNT VERNON—On the Saturday following record-breaking Skagit River flooding, Mount Vernon Mayor Peter Donovan stood before the city’s 1.4-mile flood wall (a.k.a. The Wall) and declared it a game-changer, as U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Governor Bob Ferguson and local emergency officials gathered to assess response efforts and brace for more rain.

“Downtown Mount Vernon stayed dry this week,” Donovan said. “But more importantly, downtown Mount Vernon residents were saved again. And downtown businesses were saved again.”

The Wall, deployed in about 12 hours by city employees, protected 225 downtown buildings this week, keeping the area dry despite the river’s record crest of 37.73 feet on Thursday and lifting those structures out of the federal 100-year floodplain. The Wall also reduced flo

See Full Page