Holden Village Weather

Holden Village community closes temporarily 

Chelan, WA – December 26, 2025 – Joint Statement from Holden Village’s Executive Directors and Board of Directors

We write to you with some continued updates to the events of the last few weeks.

As you likely know, on December 13, most of Holden’s staff and all of IMCO/Rio Tinto staff were evacuated from the Village by helicopter. Landslides and mudslides earlier in the week had closed the forest service road up the valley. With repairs to the road not possible until spring and predictions of future landslides and inclement winter weather that would make helicopter evacuations impossible for days or weeks at a time, the decision was made to evacuate the majority of Villagers. A crew of eleven staff stayed behind to continue winterizing buildings and systems, while plans were being developed for how to safely care for the Village through the winter.

Read the full message here: Joint Statement 12-26-25 

Chelan, WA – December 24, 2025 – Important Message from Holden’s Board of Directors

Dear Holden Community,

In this Advent time of waiting and turning now to the revolutionary hope of Christmas, the Board of Directors would like to express our commitment to see Holden through this difficult chapter in a grounded and sustainable way. We take this responsibility seriously, and we continue to trust the Holy Spirit to move and transform us all.

Read the full message here: Letter from the Holden Board 12-24-25

Chelan, WA – December 22, 2025 – On Saturday, the remaining crew of eleven staff were safely evacuated from Holden Village. 

On the morning of Wednesday, December 17, six days after landslides destroyed FS 8301, the latest round of winter storms downed hundreds of trees in the Copper Creek Valley, where Holden’s diversion dam sends water to the hydroelectric plant. One of those trees destroyed the intake pipe for the penstock, the large pipe that routes water from Copper Creek into the plant. Efforts were made on Wednesday and Thursday to assess and repair the system, while the Village functioned on the back-up generator. Unfortunately, attempts to create a temporary repair for the dam were unsuccessful. 

Facing new rounds of severe winter weather, the difficult decision was made to winterize the Village as much as possible while the community reassesses how to safely care for the Village in the coming months.

Holden Village is thankful to North Wind Aviation for safely transporting the final eleven Villagers to Field’s Point Saturday. We continue to be hopeful for Holden’s future and the resilience of this Beloved Community.

CHELAN WA, December 13, 2025 – Thirty-nine staff and three children were safely evacuated from Holden Village on Saturday. A small skeleton crew of 11 staff will stay behind to finish winterizing the Village. The Village is well stocked and the leave behind crew will be able to remain in the Village indefinitely. 

This is still a developing situation and more information will be shared with the Holden community as it becomes available. Please check our website for the latest updates.

We are grateful to the Lake Chelan Boat Company and North Wind Aviation for safely transporting Villagers to Chelan, and to our neighbors at Rio Tinto and IMCO for helping to coordinate this evacuation effort.  Thank you to everyone for the generous outreach of support and for keeping our community in your prayers.

CHELAN WA, December 12, 2025 – Holden Village will be closing temporarily, following a series of mudslides and washouts on Forest Service Road 8301. All Villagers are safe and plans are currently underway for evacuating the community in the coming days. There are currently no guests, but 53 staff are in the Village. 

The road damage occurred on Wednesday night after four consecutive days of heavy rain. FS 8301, the only road linking Holden Village with the boat dock at Lucerne, is currently impassable. Because of the continued danger of mudslides as well as pending avalanche risks as precipitation turns to snow for the winter, reconstruction work cannot safely begin until spring 2026. This closure is expected to last at least through May 2026. Incoming guests are being notified of changes to their reservations. 

Rio Tinto and their contractor IMCO Construction—which operates the water treatment plant near Holden Village—have also been impacted by the mudslides. Holden Village is working closely with both agencies to coordinate evacuation and reconstruction efforts. 

This is still a developing situation and more information will be shared with the Holden community as it becomes available. 

Deep thanks to the Holden Village incident command team who are working diligently to keep the Village safe. Please keep Holden and other Washington communities impacted by flooding–especially our neighbors in Stehekin–in your prayers.