Stehekin ordered to evacuate as more rain is on the way

The Chelan County sheriff’s office has issued an evacuation order for the Stehekin Valley ahead of heavy rain expected on Monday.

The agency recommends that people who can access Purple Point take the 1:30 p.m. ferry on Saturday or Sunday.

“Slide areas may slide again, and creeks and drainages are expected to rise,” Chelan County Emergency Management wrote in a Facebook post Saturday.

The remote town on the north shore of Lake Chelan is reeling after devastating floodwaters rushed down the fire-scarred mountainsides surrounding it. Much of the flooding poured down over burn scars from last year’s Pioneer fire or older burn scars in the area.

“Stehekin is an absolute mess,” Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison told The Seattle Times on Friday. “It’s staggering, the damage we’re seeing.”