Multiple mudslides have spilled across Highway 20 near Concrete, tearing out concrete barrier, guardrail, and power poles and leaving a half-mile of mud and debris in its wake, according to the state Department of Transportation.

The highway is closed indefinitely from east of Concrete (milepost 90) to Jackman Creek Road (milepost 91). The highway is also closed west of Concrete at Hamilton Road (milepost 79) due to water over the roadway.

An emergency shelter was opening in Concrete this evening at St. Catherine Catholic Mission Red Center at 45603 Limestone St. Red Cross shelter volunteers were being escorted to the site due to road closures.

Crews expect to be able to open the Highway 20 as soon as the water recedes, but that may not be until Thursday, according to DOT.

DOT said it will move as quickly as possible to hire a contractor and clear the road but work cannot begin until the road stabilizes. That could take several days.

Heavy rains are expected to continue through tonight, keeping the risk for flooding and mudslides in the forecast for the next couple days, forecasters said this afternoon.

Intense rainfall on top of saturated soils have already created high water on roads and mudslides. Those slides not only blocked Highway 20, but also destroyed a single-story home in Concrete this morning, temporarily trapping a woman inside.

It appeared the woman was not seriously injured, Concrete Fire Chief Rich Phillips said. She was treated in an ambulance but was not transported to the hospital, he said. Her name and age were not available.

A rain gauge near Concrete recorded 4.89 inches of rain in the 24-hour period ending 8 a.m. today. The Sedro-Woolley wastewater treatment plant reported 2.57 inches over the same period.

The mudslide on Highway 20 is preventing Puget Sound Energy crews from reaching downed power lines affecting about 900 customers in Rockport and Marblemount, said PSE spokesman Roger Thompson. PSE is working with DOT to get through the area.

“We’re kind of at the mercy of the mud right now. We’re blocked from reaching these outages,” Thompson said.

Department of Transportation spokesman Dave Chesson said the DOT is developing a detour around the mudslide.

“There’s some substantial cleanup that needs to be done, but it also needs to be stabilized before it’s safe for us to go in there,” he said.

Chuck Patterson, who lives on a rising Thomas Creek north of Burlington, said he had one foot of standing water on his property this afternoon.

“I’ve seen it to where it flooded out my house one year,” said Patterson, who has lived there for 13 years.

If the water rises another two feet by tonight, it will flood his home, Patterson said.

“If that happens, there’s not going to be anything you can do about it. What can you do at midnight?” he said.

The Samish River is rising rapidly, approaching 13.5 feet at 10:30 this morning. On Monday, the Samish River’s level was 7 feet.

There is no official flood stage for the Samish. It peaked at 19.5 feet when it flooded in December 2005.

A forecast released at 11:12 a.m. still anticipates minor flooding of the Skagit River Thursday and Friday. The river is predicted to crest at 32.1 feet near Concrete at 10 a.m. Thursday and at 30 feet in Mount Vernon at 4 a.m. Friday.

Flood stage at both locations is 28 feet.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has assumed control of the Upper Baker and Ross dams to keep water behind the reservoirs and reduce flood levels, corps spokeswoman Andrea Takash said. As of 1 p.m., flows out of Upper Baker were reduced by 890 cubic feet per second, and flows from Ross were reduced by 2,490 cfs, Takash said.

Highway 20 also remains closed near Lyman, west of Concrete near Challenger Road and at Newhalem, according to the Transportation Department Web site: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/Update/Skagit_Whatcom_Island.htm.

The list of county road closures is available at http://www.skagitcounty.net.

Sandbags are available at several locations in the county:

* 18726 Parkview Lane Fire Station 1, Alger

* Hathaway Road & Highway 9, North side of Highway 9

* Sedro-Woolley Fire Station

* Methodist Church Allen West Road

* Clear Lake 12785 Highway 9