Stehekin storm damage gets closer look this week

Location of the damaged National Park Service wastewater treatment facility, Dec. 12, 2025. Photo courtesy: KING5.

A ferry ride is planned for Tuesday from Chelan to Stehekin for a two-day visit from Chelan County Commissioner Brad Hawkins, county Natural Resources Director Mike Kaputa, and officials from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and National Park Service to analyze next steps on storm damage repairs.

The focus is on stabilizing Company Creek Road along a re-directed Stehekin River to best protect the road and a couple dozen homes in the area.

"There is going to have to be some work done before the spring flows," said Kaputa, in a discussion with county commissioners. "The park service has met with the corp of engineers. The Corp does have the expertise and the wherewithal to be able to do a project like this, and I say like this because we haven't yet defined what the project would be."

"Their (Army Corp of Engineers) geomorphologist is supposed to have some recommendations on the scale for the work for what I'm calling phase one," Kaputa shared. "Phase two is a much more complicated project, because what likely needs to happen is that road (Company Creek Road), there needs to be a new levee built on that road and that would require probably some pretty substantial river restoration."

A community meeting is planned for 4:00 p.m. Tuesday at the Stehekin School.

Repair work is also expected soon on a damaged forest service road to Holden Village.