US 2 reopens across Stevens Pass

SKYKOMISH, Wash. — U.S. 2 fully opened across Stevens Pass around 4 p.m. Thursday.

The highway closed Sunday after heavy snowfall brought down power lines and trees between Gold Bar and the Stevens Pass summit.

The closure left people who live in towns like Index, Skykomish and Baring stranded.

“We know this has been a stressful and at times frustrating week and we extend a huge thank you to the residents of the area and the rest of the public for their patience throughout,” a spokesperson for the Washington Department of Transportation wrote in a news release.

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Troopers and deputies worked together to check on residents of the towns and volunteers jumped into action as vital supplies began to run out.

On Wednesday, dozens of good Samaritans gathered at the Gold Bar Family Grocer. Some of them came with water, food and fuel they had purchased the night before at a Walmart store in Monroe.

Some of the purchases were funded by donations through a GoFundMe page.

“It’s a small town, this is what we do. We help those, we help ours,” said Cheryl Peterson, one of the volunteer organizers. Click here to read more.

While Thursday’s reopening of U.S. 2 was welcome news for people in the area, many are still without power.

A Puget Sound Energy outage map showed that as of Thursday evening, hundreds of customers in Skykomish were in the dark.

PSE is working to get a generator hooked up to the only gas station in town so people can get gas for their own generators and vehicles.

It’s still expected to be days before everyone gets their power back on.

Information from the Associated Press is included in this report.

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