How can residents evacuate Orting during road closures and ‘go now’ orders?
Orting residents are evacuating their homes Wednesday because of Puyallup River flooding that “poses a significant threat to life or property,” the city posted on social media.
Central Pierce Fire and Rescue made a Facebook post just before 10 a.m. on Wednesday, saying there are Level 3 “Go Now” orders for some parts of Orting and Level 2 “Be Set” orders for other areas of the town.
“Go now” orders are in place for those in the areas of:
- Williams Boulevard Northwest
- Mellinger Avenue Northwest
- Stone Street Northwest.
“Level 3 ‘Go Now’ order is in place for Phase 1 of Village Green (west of Headly Ave NW),” the City of Orting wrote in a Facebook post at 9:07 a.m.
Residents who are evacuating may have trouble figuring out the best evacuation routes amid road closures. Josh Penner, mayor of Orting, sent The News Tribune this picture, which has the evacuation area outlined in red:
Carly Cappetto, spokesperson for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, told The News Tribune the best way to figure out how to evacuate is to keep track of road closures. According to a Facebook post from Pierce County Planning & Public Works, these are the major road closures across the county:
- McCutcheon Road East between 96th Street East and State Route 162 is closed. Rhodes Lake Road East is also closed between McCutcheon Road East and Sky Island Drive East.
- South Prairie Carbon River Road East from Arline Road East to State Route 162 is closed. The Washington State Department of Transportation also closed State Route 162 from Arline Road East to Emery Avenue North.
- South Prairie Road from 234th Avenue East to State Route 162 is closed.
- Houston Road East from Valley Avenue East to Milwaukee Avenue East is closed.
- Sumner Buckley Highway East from Kelly Lake Road to 230th Avenue East is closed.
- Spring Site Road off of State Route 162 is closed in its entirety.
- Leech Road East from 159th Avenue East to 176th Street East is closed.
Cappetto said about 6 p.m. Wednesday that those closures remained in effect. Residents can stay updated on road closures at PierceCountyWA.gov/RoadAlerts. They can also visit protect.genasys.com for the latest updates on evacuation orders.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with road closure details and to clarify that the map of Orting shows the evacuation area.
This story was originally published December 10, 2025 at 3:00 PM.
