State, King County and Army Corps outline continued levee monitoring and emergency repairs after December floods

Gov. Bob Ferguson and King County leaders on Saturday briefed the public on ongoing flood response efforts after recent levee breaches, announcing National Guard deployments, rescue teams and emergency repairs by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Ferguson opened by offering condolences after learning that “one of our state troopers died in the line of duty last night. That is state trooper Gooding.” He described the flooding and levee stress as historic and warned the public that risk remains unpredictable even though experts now assess the chance of another breach as “moderate.”

The governor said he is mobilizing 100 National Guard members, with about 50 assigned to levee patrols and round‑the‑clock spotters on the levee system. He also said the state is working to bring four swift‑water rescue teams to King County and to form an additional rapid‑repair strike team to respond quickly if a breach occurs. “We intend to have spotters on the levee system 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” he said.

King County Executive Grama Zahilay outlined three core messages: (1) the forecast has reduced immediate risk but a moderate risk remains, (2) county and state partners have staged equipment and personnel for rapid response, and (3) residents should follow official alerts and avoid flooded roads. Zahilay said crews have cross‑trained National Guard troops to augment flood patrols (the transcript lists the phrase “cross trained 39 35 national guard troops,” and the exact number was not clear from the briefing). He also described staging of sand, rock, super sacks and sandbags and said county maintenance and special operations crews were responding to life‑safety concerns.

The county is opening two satellite debris‑collection sites to assist impacted residents and is using drone flights, assisted by the King County Sheriff’s Office, to monitor river conditions. Zahilay directed residents to two public resources: kingcounty.gov/floodrecovery for cleanup and debris management and kcemergency.com for coordinated emergency information, and he provided the flood warning center number: (206) 296‑8200.

Col. Kathryn Sanborn of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers described Corps operations in the region and said the Corps successfully used reservoir operations to reduce downstream risk. She said storing a record amount of water behind the Howard A. Hanson Dam, for example, “prevented an additional 5 feet of floodwater in the Green River at Auburn,” which likely averted overtopping of many levees. Sanborn said the Corps had been requested to perform emergency levee repairs on 11 levees in Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish counties; nearly nine repairs were reported complete and two were in process at the time of the briefing.

When asked about longer‑term levee repair and investment, Ferguson said officials cannot fully assess damage until waters recede and promised to convene federal, state and local partners — including the Army Corps and flood districts — to review lessons learned and necessary investments.

Officials repeatedly emphasized public safety: obey evacuation and road‑closure orders, avoid driving or walking through standing water, and follow local leaders’ instructions. The briefing closed with thanks to first responders, local officials and media partners and a commitment to provide further updates as conditions evolve.

Ending note: Officials said they will continue monitoring river and levee conditions through the coming days, especially ahead of a forecast weather system around Dec. 28; more detailed damage assessments and planning for longer‑term levee repairs will follow once waters recede.