SEATTLE - The Seattle arts community is mourning the loss of a well-loved colleague and friend, an award-winning actress who was known for her voice.

Friends were at her Madison Valley home Friday with tokens of remembrance to honor 41-year-old Kate Fleming. Many people have heard her over the years voicing commercials and books on tape.

The problem started far above Fleming’s home on East Madison Street. Storm drains clogged, sending water over the sidewalks.

"The water was moving so fast it was like white water rapids," said neighbor and business owner Catie Corpron.

From Madison Street the water poured over this hillside with so much power it knocked over a concrete retaining wall. With that energy the water continued down the street and around corner, and gushed into the basement of Kate Fleming’s home.

Fleming had a recording studio in the basement of her home. When the flooding began, she ran downstairs to try to save her equipment. But the rush of water was so powerful it punched a gaping hole into the foundation of her home.

Cedarhouseaudio.com

Kate Fleming was the owner and executive producer of Cedar House Audio.

Water quickly filled her studio all the way to the ceiling and forced the door closed. The water pressure was so strong she couldn't open it.

Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Helen Fitzpatrick said neighbors heard the Fleming calling for help but couldn't reach her in the basement, which didn't have a window.

When firefighters arrived, they had to cut a hole in the floor of the house to pull her out. By then she had been underwater too long and could not be revived. She was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Fleming had her own audio production company. The former theatrical actress, was the owner and executive producer of Cedar House Audio, a company that records audio from books.

Under the name Anna Fields, Fleming voiced over 250 audiobooks and received an award from the Audio Publishers Association for All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki.

Other authors whose books she has narrated include Louise Erdrich, Edith Wharton and Joyce Carol Oates.

Her company also produced a series on travel writer Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door.

Fleming’s friends want her to be remembered as a powerful person with a great sense of humor and a beautiful voice.