In December last year, Skagit County experienced record-breaking flooding, resulting in evacuations, school and road closures, and millions of dollars of damage to homes and businesses. If you are hoping to check out the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, you will be happy to know it is still on.
Seattle's Child spoke with Rachael Sparwasser, owner of Tulip Town in Mount Vernon, about her experience before and during the flooding. She lived in the area during the 1990 flood, so she knows what devastation rising rivers can bring. She told about the preparations they made at Tulip Town.
"As part of good farming practices, we make sure our fields have good drainage. Since the 1990 flooding, Skagit County has done a lot to improve our local dike system, and the City of Mount Vernon has installed floodwalls to protect downtown businesses," said Sparwasser. "If the dikes had broken, depending on where, it could've flooded our fields. We moved our equipment to higher ground just in case. As far as the fields, there isn't much we could do to prevent damage in the event of significant flooding."
Read more at: Seattle's Child
