Washington

Dynamite, Floods and Feuds: Washington’s forgotten river wars

Published

2 weeks ago

January 7, 2026

Dynamite, Floods and Feuds: Washington’s forgotten river wars

A look back at Washington’s historic flooding

It’s been a few weeks since the historic flooding hit the streets of western Washington, and if you scroll through social media, the shock still seems fresh. While some insist it was a once-in-a-generation disaster, state history tells a different story.

TUKWILA, Wash. – After floodwaters inundated western Washington in December, social media is still filled with disbelief, with many people saying they had never seen flooding like it before.

But local history shows the region has experienced catastrophic flooding, just not within most people’s lifetimes.

A valley under water

What may look like submerged farmland in Skagit or Snohomish counties is actually an aerial view of Tukwila from more than a century ago. Before Boeing, business parks and suburban development, the Kent Valley was a wide floodplain.

(Tukwila Historical Society)

In November 1906, much of the valley was underwater, according to city records. In some places, floodwaters reached up to 10 feet, inundating homesteads and entire communities.

“Roads were destroyed, river paths were readjusted,” said Chris Staudinger of Pretty Gritty Tours. “So much of what had been built in these areas got washed away.”

Staudinger has been sharing historical images and records online, drawing comparisons between the December flooding and events from the late 1800s and early 1900s.

“It reminded me so much of what’s happening right now,” he said, adding that the loss then, as now, was largely a loss of property and control rather than life.

When farmers used dynamite

Records show flooding was not the only force reshaping the region’s rivers. In the late 1800s, farmers repeatedly used dynamite in attempts to redirect waterways.

“The White River in particular has always been contentious,” explained Staudinger. “For farmers in that area, multiple different times starting in the 1890s, groups of farmers would get together and blow-up parts of the river to divert its course either up to King County or down to Pierce County.”

Staudinger says at times they used too much dynamite and accidentally sent logs lobbing through the air like missiles.

In one instance, King County farmers destroyed a bluff, permanently diverting the White River into Pierce County. The river no longer flowed toward Elliott Bay, instead emptying into Commencement Bay.

Outraged by this, Pierce County farmers took their grievances to the Washington State Supreme Court. The court ruled the change could not be undone.

When flooding returned, state officials intervened to stop further explosions.

“To prevent anyone from going out and blowing up the naturally occurred log jam, the armed guards were dispatched by the state guard,” said Staudinger. “Everything was already underwater.”

Rivers reengineered — and erased

Over the next century, rivers across the region were dredged, dammed and diverted. Entire waterways changed or disappeared.

“So right where the Renton Airport is now used to be this raging waterway called the Black River,” explained Staudinger. “Connected into the Duwamish. It was a major salmon run. It was a navigable waterway.”

Today, that river has been reduced to what Staudinger described as “the little dry trickle.”

Between 1906 and 1916, the most dramatic changes occurred that played a role in its shrinking. When the Ballard Locks were completed, Lake Washington dropped by nine feet, permanently cutting off its southern flow.

A lesson from December

Despite modern levees and flood-control engineering, December’s storms showed how vulnerable the region remains.

“For me, that’s the takeaway,” remarked Staudinger. “You could do all of this to try and remain in control, but the river’s going to do whatever it wants.”

He warned that history suggests the risk is ongoing.

“You’re always one big storm from it rediscovering its old path,” said Staudinger.

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The Source: Information in this story came from the Tukwila Historical Society, MOHAI, Pretty Gritty Tours, and FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.

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Washington

Photos of the annual March for Life in Washington

Published

2 hours ago

January 23, 2026

Press Room

Photos of the annual March for Life in Washington

WASHINGTON (AP) — The annual March for Life demonstration was held in Washington, where Vice President JD Vance touted the Trump administration’s record against abortion.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

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Washington

Washington plays Charlotte on 5-game road skid

Published

14 hours ago

January 23, 2026

Press Room

Washington plays Charlotte on 5-game road skid

Washington Wizards (10-33, 14th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Charlotte Hornets (17-28, 12th in the Eastern Conference)

Charlotte, North Carolina; Saturday, 6 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Washington travels to Charlotte looking to stop its five-game road losing streak.

The Hornets are 5-4 against Southeast Division teams. Charlotte averages 14.6 turnovers per game and is 6-8 when it wins the turnover battle.

The Wizards are 2-4 in division matchups. Washington ranks eighth in the Eastern Conference with 11.6 offensive rebounds per game led by Marvin Bagley III averaging 2.6.

The Hornets are shooting 46.0% from the field this season, 1.5 percentage points lower than the 47.5% the Wizards allow to opponents. The Wizards are shooting 45.9% from the field, 1.8% lower than the 47.7% the Hornets’ opponents have shot this season.

The teams play for the third time this season. The Hornets won the last meeting 126-109 on Dec. 24, with LaMelo Ball scoring 23 points in the win.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kon Knueppel is shooting 48.2% and averaging 19.0 points for the Hornets. Brandon Miller is averaging 18.6 points over the last 10 games.

Alex Sarr is scoring 17.2 points per game and averaging 7.4 rebounds for the Wizards. Bub Carrington is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Hornets: 5-5, averaging 116.3 points, 49.1 rebounds, 26.9 assists, 5.9 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 47.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.1 points per game.

Wizards: 1-9, averaging 108.3 points, 42.1 rebounds, 23.6 assists, 8.6 steals and 5.6 blocks per game while shooting 44.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 120.9 points.

INJURIES: Hornets: Mason Plumlee: out (groin), Tre Mann: out (illness), Grant Williams: out (knee), KJ Simpson: out (hip).

Wizards: Tristan Vukcevic: out (knee), Bilal Coulibaly: out (back), Cam Whitmore: out for season (shoulder), Trae Young: out (quad), Marvin Bagley III: out (illness).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Washington

Nats trading MacKenzie Gore to Rangers for prospects, AP source says

Published

1 day ago

January 22, 2026

Press Room

Nats trading MacKenzie Gore to Rangers for prospects, AP source says

All-Star left-hander MacKenzie Gore is headed to the Texas Rangers in a trade that sends five prospects back to the Nationals in the biggest move of new Washington president of baseball operations Paul Toboni’s roster rebuilding efforts, a person with knowledge of the swap told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been announced.

Gore gives the 2023 World Series champions a starter who should be able to help the front end of their rotation along with Jacob deGrom — a two-time Cy Young Award winner who was the American League Comeback Player of the Year in 2025 — and Nathan Eovaldi, who dealt with a rotator cuff strain and had surgery for a sports hernia after compiling a 1.73 ERA in 22 starts.

Gore is under team control for the next two seasons; he can’t become a free agent until after the 2027 World Series. He is scheduled to make $5.6 million in 2026 after a one-year deal with the Nationals that avoided arbitration.

Gore, who turns 27 next month, is 26-41 with a 4.19 ERA in four major league seasons, the past three with Washington. He was an NL All-Star last season, when he ended up going 5-15 with a 4.17 ERA and a career-best 185 strikeouts in 30 appearances, all starts.

He was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 amateur draft by the San Diego Padres and was sent to the Nationals in the 2022 trade that included Juan Soto.

The players Washington is receiving from Texas are Yeremy Cabrera, Gavin Fien, Devin Fitz-Gerald, Abimelec Ortiz, Alejandro Rosario.

Fien is an 18-year-old shortstop who was taken out of high school in the first round of last year’s draft.

Fitz-Gerald is a 20-year-old infielder, Rosario is a 24-year-old right-handed pitcher, Cabrera is a 20-year-old outfielder and Ortiz is a 23-year-old first baseman and outfielder.

All five are considered among the top 20 prospects in the Rangers’ system.

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