Homeowners in Lyman devastated by Skagit River flooding got a visit from Rep. Suzan DelBene before she heads back to Washington D.C. on Tuesday.
"It's devastating, You can see it right here a lot of land was lost, houses at risk," she said.
DelBene, who represents Washington's first district, toured land that's less than half of what it was last week. Swift currents Thanksgiving Day feasted on the bank, cutting more than a hundred feet of property overnight, all while homeowners waited for help from state and federal officials.
"They failed. They absolutely failed. The other day I said the government sucks and friends and family don't," Mark Harris said. "It's an incredibly tough time."
Harris and neighbor Sherry Taxdahl were glad to see DelBene, but admit it's sort of too little too late.
"I'm glad the initial shock is over, the nightmare, and now we can clean up the mess," said Lyman Mayor Eddie Hills.
Hills spent days on the phone calling for emergency assistance but got little if any response. DelBene's office tells KING 5 they helped arrange phone calls with Governor Inslee's office as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. But no one ever showed up to stop the massive erosion that's made three homes unlivable due to safety concerns.
"I'm angry a lot of the time and then I have to step back and figure out how to pick up the pieces," he said.
Homeowners blame a levee the government hasn't maintained. The river's now flowing free in order to restore salmon, but the town feels like fish habitat's valued over their property.
"So the question is, what are potential solutions and understanding those. There have been flooding events before. This is a particularly major flooding events and we have to assume there will be future flooding events that will affect this community," DelBene said. "We have to bring all the folks together who are experts at the federal, state and local issues and understand what's been done in the past and what can be done in the future."
Harris' large workshop toppled into the Skagit on Thanksgiving evening. The property was his retirement plan.
"Thankfully we had most everything out of there. Now the river has it," he said.
It's a river that neighbors say is about as unpredictable as the promises they've gotten from elected officials.
"A lot of assessing," Taxdahl said.
"I think was it you that told our congresswoman she could be a hero or a zero?" Harris asked her.
"Yep that was me," she replied.
"Good for you," Harris said.
