'We just want out': Hamilton residents accept buyouts to move out of floodplain

HAMILTON - The town of Hamilton, which sits along the Skagit River, has long been beset by flooding troubles.

For several residents, December's major flooding that swept through area homes has been a sign to leave.

Environmental nonprofit Forterra has been offering buyouts to allow residents to do just that.

In 2023, Forterra received a $3.5 million state Department of Ecology grant to buy homes from those looking to sell properties that were at risk of flooding.

Forterra's program been successful.

The organization has bought six properties, with a seventh to close by the end of the month.

Forterra is now working to demolish the structures on the acquired lots.

The $3.5 million the organization received in 2023 is now fully used up.

"The interest has outstripped our current grant," Forterra CEO and President Michelle Connor said.

The organization is waiting to see if it is awarded a second round of grant funding.

There are about 10 property owners on a wait list to take part in Forterra program.

"On the river itself, there are so many houses in harm's way," said Connor. "You know, I think sometimes people say, 'There's so many structures, we'll never do anything about it.'

"But that's not true. Humans are very adaptable. We're very resourceful. And if we put our minds to it, and we're patient and we respect each other's needs, there is no barrier to us over time coming up with a solution where people can live in the valley and the river can move where it needs to move."

Two families' stories

Barbara Flug, whose husband has Parkinson's, had trouble keeping up with their house in Hamilton.

"We were glad when the buyout came along," Flug said in an email.

The sale, which took 15 months to complete, closed just before the last flood. The couple now lives in a 55+ community in Mount Vernon - much closer to doctors and grocery stores, said Flug.

For many residents, the December 2025 Skagit River flooding that topped 41 feet in Concrete was the final straw. The flooding caused a call for evacuation of 78,000 residents in the county and damaged 784 homes in total.

Deb and Mike Ulrich lived through the 2021 floods in Hamilton.

Their house, which was up on a knoll, got about an inch and a half of water inside, and everything had to be taken out.

Following the 2021 flooding, the couple had their log house raised by three and half feet.

The couple looked into Forterra's program and had an appraisal done on their house, but two weeks before the 2025 flooding the Ulrichs decided to put off taking part in the program for another year, or until the next grant cycle.

Then the December flooding hit.

"That startled us," said Deb Ulrich. "We had thought 'Oh, we raised our house, so we should be good.'"

Five feet of water swept through the Ulrichs' detached garage, and much damage was done, including to a newly-installed furnace.

The couple made the call to Forterra during the days that the flood swept through the county.

"We just decided we didn't go through that again," said Ulrich.

The Ulriches are both seniors, which factored into their decision, said Ulrich.

Even with flood insurance, it's hard and expensive to clean up after flooding, said Ulrich. The thick mud in the yard lasts forever, and there's tons of mosquitos all summer.

As climate change exacerbates the risk of flooding, Ulrich decided she didn't want to be at risk any more.

"I didn't want to be a climate refugee," she said. "There's lots of them out there, and it's going to continue."

The sale closed March 31, and the couple now lives in Oak Harbor.

"We're pretty relieved it's over," said Ulrich.

Waiting their turn

Lori Japhet and Aaron Walker are one of the families on the wait list.

Japhet and Walker redid their Hamilton home near a slough along the river in 2023, after six inches of water flowed through the house, and then again after 2025 flooding. Drywall, flooring, paint and garage were all hit, said Japhet.

"We just want out," said Japhet.

The dike next to the couple's home has begun to crumble, said Japhet, and there's few resources to protect the town.

"We're so done," Japhet said.

It's hard to sell property in Hamilton. The house that Walker and Japhet own was up for sale for seven years before they bought it.

For them and others, Forterra's program is their best option.

An earlier plan

Forterra's property buyout program is its second attempt to help the people of Hamilton.

In 2018, Forterra was contacted by then-Mayor Joan Cromley about the town's continued flooding and the possibility of moving homes and businesses out of harm's way.

Forterra looked at the impact of flooding on the community and at the way structures degrading from the flooding were polluting the environment, and decided to try to help address it, said Connor.

In 2019, the organization bought 43 acres in Hamilton that sit north of Highway 20 and out of the floodplain with the intent of studying if that land could be used for Hamilton residents looking to move out of the floodplain.

Forterra had hoped to build a timber plant in Darrington to construct housing out of cross-laminated timber. But the plant didn't work out, and in April Forterra sold the 43 acres to Home Trust of Skagit.

Home Trust of Skagit and Community Action of Skagit County plan to work together to determine if its feasible to build housing on 30 acres of the land.

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