Northwest highways washed out in storm

Heavy rain and flooding, already blamed for three deaths in the Pacific Northwest, washed out a major highway near Mount Hood and forced the shutdown of 59 miles of the North Cascades Highway in Washington state Thursday.

The White River flowed over Oregon Highway 35 on Mount Hood’s eastern flank Monday and Tuesday, cutting 20-foot-deep ruts through the road and sending boulders and trees rolling down the mountainside, said Bill Barnhart, a Department of Transportation manager.

Reopening the highway near Mount Hood could cost $20 million.

More than 18 inches of rain over 36 hours also swamped Mount Rainier National Park in Washington. The deluge washed out roads and bridges, cut power and sewer lines, and forced officials to close the park for the first time in 26 years.

Cleanup will take weeks, with park officials saying they hope to return to normal operations by Christmas. In some places, they won’t know the extent of the damage until after the snow melts in the spring.

“Some places get that much rain in a year, and we had it in 36 hours,” park spokeswoman Lee Taylor said, noting the 17.9 inches of rain that fell Sunday and Monday. “When we were finally able to get out and start assessing the damage, it was a very sobering day.”

The storms damaged hundreds of homes and broke rainfall records. Flooding claimed at least three lives: two men swept into a Washington river and a 78-year-old woman found along the Oregon coast, where the woman’s daughter-in-law also was missing.

More rain was expected today and over the weekend, but “just a rainstorm, not a flooding rain,” said forecaster Chris Burke at the National Weather Service. River levels were dropping, but some were still at flood stage, with recovery and damage assessment still days away.