Volunteers face long road to flood recovery in Whatcom County
Nearly three months after devastating flooding tore through Western Washington, volunteers in Whatcom County are stepping up to help people rebuild their damaged homes. But the money from donations is about to run dry, and lingering uncertainty over federal funding means many people are still displaced.
As the sun set over the North Cascades on a recent Thursday, Kyle Christensen stood outside a church in Sumas. It’s a small town next to the Canadian border that was hit hard by the December floods. Christensen used to be the mayor. He’s now the director of the Whatcom Long Term Recovery Group, which was created after flooding in 2021 to fill service gaps and help people rebuild their homes.
“We were still helping people from the 2021 flood when the December flood happened,” Christensen said.
The Sumas Advent Christian Church has served as a meeting point for families seeking aid and for volunteers helping people rebuild their homes. Christensen’s group has a “recovery trailer” parked outside. It has saws, power cords, a floor-cutting machine, gloves, safety suits, screws, nails, ladders and other things you’d need to fix a flooded house.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2026/02/27/volunteers-face-long-road-to-flood-recovery-in-whatcom-county/