HOOD RIVER, OREGON - December 18: Patrick Foss, right, gets help from a neighbor while putting sandbags around one of the buildings on the property belonging to his father along Frankton Road in Hood River, Oregon on December 18, 2025. Foss, whose father runs and owns Alpine Veterinary Hospital on this property, said they have experienced flooding before but never this amount. They used as many sandbags to divert water away from the building that houses a pet grooming business. A backhoe on the left is seen trying to clear culverts of debris to get water flowing along the road. Hood River has seen a significant amount of rain with this recent atmospheric river to hit the Pacific Northwest. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Special to the Columbia Gorge News)
HOOD RIVER, OREGON - December 18: Patrick Foss puts sandbags around one of the buildings on the property belonging to his father along Frankton Road in Hood River, Oregon on December 18, 2025. The duo, whose father runs and owns Alpine Veterinary Hospital on this property, said they have experienced flooding before but never this amount. They used as many sandbags to divert water away from the building that houses a pet grooming business. A backhoe on the left is seen trying to clear culverts of debris to get water flowing along the road. Hood River has seen a significant amount of rain with this recent atmospheric river to hit the Pacific Northwest. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Special to the Columbia Gorge News)
HOOD RIVER, OREGON - December 18: Rachel Foss and her brother Patrick put sandbags around one of the buildings on their property along Frankton Road in Hood River, Oregon on December 18, 2025. The duo, whose father runs and owns Alpine Veterinary Hospital on this property, said they have experienced flooding before but never this amount. They used as many sandbags to divert water away from the building that houses a pet grooming business. A backhoe on the left is seen trying to clear culverts of debris to get water flowing along the road. Hood River has seen a significant amount of rain with this recent atmospheric river to hit the Pacific Northwest. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Special to the Columbia Gorge News)
HOOD RIVER, OREGON - December 18: Patrick Foss puts sandbags around one of the buildings on the property belonging to his father along Frankton Road in Hood River, Oregon on December 18, 2025. The duo, whose father runs and owns Alpine Veterinary Hospital on this property, said they have experienced flooding before but never this amount. They used as many sandbags to divert water away from the building that houses a pet grooming business. A backhoe on the left is seen trying to clear culverts of debris to get water flowing along the road. Hood River has seen a significant amount of rain with this recent atmospheric river to hit the Pacific Northwest. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Special to the Columbia Gorge News)
HOOD RIVER, OREGON - December 18: Patrick Foss, right, gets help from a neighbor while putting sandbags around one of the buildings on the property belonging to his father along Frankton Road in Hood River, Oregon on December 18, 2025. Foss, whose father runs and owns Alpine Veterinary Hospital on this property, said they have experienced flooding before but never this amount. They used as many sandbags to divert water away from the building that houses a pet grooming business. A backhoe on the left is seen trying to clear culverts of debris to get water flowing along the road. Hood River has seen a significant amount of rain with this recent atmospheric river to hit the Pacific Northwest. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Special to the Columbia Gorge News)
Helen H. Richardson
County employees use a backhoe to clear blocked culverts and provide relief to those inundated on Frankton Road in Hood River Dec. 18.
Photo by Helen H. Richardson / Special to Columbia Gorge News
HOOD RIVER, OREGON - December 18: Patrick Foss puts sandbags around one of the buildings on the property belonging to his father along Frankton Road in Hood River, Oregon on December 18, 2025. The duo, whose father runs and owns Alpine Veterinary Hospital on this property, said they have experienced flooding before but never this amount. They used as many sandbags to divert water away from the building that houses a pet grooming business. A backhoe on the left is seen trying to clear culverts of debris to get water flowing along the road. Hood River has seen a significant amount of rain with this recent atmospheric river to hit the Pacific Northwest. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Special to the Columbia Gorge News)
Helen H. Richardson
HOOD RIVER, OREGON - December 18: Rachel Foss and her brother Patrick put sandbags around one of the buildings on their property along Frankton Road in Hood River, Oregon on December 18, 2025. The duo, whose father runs and owns Alpine Veterinary Hospital on this property, said they have experienced flooding before but never this amount. They used as many sandbags to divert water away from the building that houses a pet grooming business. A backhoe on the left is seen trying to clear culverts of debris to get water flowing along the road. Hood River has seen a significant amount of rain with this recent atmospheric river to hit the Pacific Northwest. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Special to the Columbia Gorge News)
THE GORGE — Hood River experienced high levels of precipitation, similar to levels seen in Portland, with around 2.47 inches in 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) at the time of this publication. The rain has caused flooding on Frankton Road, especially around Alpine Veterinary Hospital, and flood warnings in other parts of Hood River.
Additionally, Highway 35 is closed in both directions because of a landslide, affecting the Cooper Spur curves from milepost 73 to 76.
County employees are out clearing culverts and mitigating further flooding. Free sand and sandbags are available for people to collect at the Hood River County Fairgrounds and Hood River County Public Works.
HOOD RIVER, OREGON - December 18: Patrick Foss puts sandbags around one of the buildings on the property belonging to his father along Frankton Road in Hood River, Oregon on December 18, 2025. The duo, whose father runs and owns Alpine Veterinary Hospital on this property, said they have experienced flooding before but never this amount. They used as many sandbags to divert water away from the building that houses a pet grooming business. A backhoe on the left is seen trying to clear culverts of debris to get water flowing along the road. Hood River has seen a significant amount of rain with this recent atmospheric river to hit the Pacific Northwest. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Special to the Columbia Gorge News)
Helen H. Richardson
White Salmon received 2.95 inches of precipitation on Dec. 18, according to the RainDrop App. Standing water on Snowden Road is overwhelming the wastewater system, which may cause sewer backups. Cherry St., Spring St. and Dewalt Drive are especially at risk of water backing up through pipes and bathtub drains, according to the City of White Salmon.
If you experience sewage backups, do not use those appliances, keep children and pets away from sewage, turn off power if there is standing water, call your homeowner’s insurance provider, and call the public works after-hours number at 509-637-3307 so the city can track affected areas.
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