The house that Mike and Mary Nichols worked on along the Raging River in Upper Preston, next to Interstate 90 about 30 miles east of Seattle, still rests alongside the river, twisted and destroyed.
Much of the house and more than 10 years of work were washed away in a few minutes in November flooding, sending a mobile home used as temporary quarters surging downstream and tearing away most of the house and its property.
A Chevy pickup and Toyota Land Cruiser that ended up balanced on what was left of the washed-away garage slab were removed by cutting a hole in the garage wall. Doors and windows are covered with plywood, and no-trespassing signs have been put up at the site.
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Since the floods, the house also has been marked as unsafe to occupy by the King County Department of Development and Environmental Services, with a Nov. 10 notice requiring Nichols to obtain the services of a licensed structural engineer to evaluate the building for even limited access.
At last contact, Nichols was waiting to see how his insurance claim would be settled, the county department reported. Nichols himself could not be reached for comment.
Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com
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