Damage caused by this month’s destructive Glendale flood is nearly $5.2 million and climbing, county officials estimated this week.

It will cost at least $3 million to repair damage to public infrastructure, Island County Public Works Director Bill Oakes said Thursday.

And personal property damage incurred by Glendale residents is estimated at $2.2 million, with more figures to come in, David Hollett, director of the county’s Department of Emergency Management, said Friday.

The county amount only includes repair of the washout at Glendale Road near Holst Road, culvert replacement and the rebuilding of the salmon recovery system on Glendale Creek, Oakes said.

It doesn’t include the cost of the county’s participation in the cleanup. Those costs continue to climb, he said.

Hollett said structural damage to private property has so far been estimated at a little more than $2.1 million, the bulk of it for the heavily damaged Glendale Hotel.

Personal property loss has been estimated at $66,650. All property owners but one have submitted estimates, Hollett said.

He said once all estimates are in, the total will be submitted to the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which will investigate and make a determination if aid should be made available.

Damages must reach a specific level before disaster funds would be available, Hollett said. The current level for public damage, such as that incurred by the county, is $11 million, he said.

Hollett said the level for private property damage changes each year, “but should be considerably less than that.”

He said if no disaster funds are available, the state may offer low-interest loans to property owners who qualify.

He said the sooner damage estimates are submitted, the sooner a determination can be made.

“There’s a lot of red tape,” Hollett said. “I just had my first FEMA meeting last week for December’s snowstorm.”

Oakes said the repair of the Glendale Road washout, which left a 100-foot gap at least 20 feet deep, “is probably at least a year away.”

“We’re still analyzing all our options,” he said.

Oakes said the portion of Glendale Road that runs up the ravine and connects to Holst Road is expected to be open next week, with one-lane traffic along one section.

There was individual property damage to eight homes, the Glendale Hotel and the old Ford Garage near the beach where the creek ends.

The hotel, which was for sale at the time of the flood, sustained heavy damage, and debris was still being removed this week. It’s owned by Ruby Marr of Seattle, and her son Jason, who also own the damaged Ford Garage up Glendale Road.

Ruby Marr said Thursday that her family has owned the hotel and garage since the 1980s, but still plan to sell once cleanup and repair is complete.

Three homes remained without water and septic service Thursday, and two are considered uninhabitable, Oakes said.

One is an A-frame house that was pushed completely off its foundation by the flash flood while its occupant, Dan Montcalvo, remained inside. He was uninjured.

The A-frame is owned by Geof Wirth of Clinton and his family, and was being rented to Montcalvo at the time. Wirth said earlier he would wait for estimates before deciding what to do with the structure.

The other house, a 1930s single-story two-bedroom at the intersection of Glendale and Humphrey roads, is owned by Lorinda Kay, office manager of the Record.

Kay, who has lived there 20 years, said she planned to have the house lifted so that mud could be cleared from beneath it, then have it placed on a new foundation.

Oakes said a crew from the county’s Bayview road shop remains on-site, and will stay as long as needed. He said portable toilets and potable water will continue to be available to Glendale residents.

“We’ll leave those in place until the residents have services,” Oakes said.

A broken beaver dam about three miles upstream from Glendale Road was blamed for the unexpected swelling of Glendale Creek on April 2. The flood carved a gash in Glendale Canyon and left a mountain of mud and debris at the foot of the tiny community and on top of its seawall.

Oakes said the county is pursuing funds to repair the county’s portion of the damage. Officials were making a presentation this week to the state County Road Administration Board for a zero-interest loan, he said.

“But it’s still a loan,” he added, noting that the county is already strapped for funds in the floundering economy.

Oakes said the 24-inch culvert that was under Glendale Road was never found after the flood.

“It may have broken up or been washed away completely,” he said.

Some Glendale residents blame the county for not replacing the culvert after the flood of New Year’s Eve 1996, when new box culverts were installed downstream to accommodate spawning salmon.

They say this time state fisheries requirements will force the county to install a bigger culvert. Others suggest that a Glendale Road bridge be built over the creek.

Some of the county’s severest critics have raised the specter of legal action because of damage they incurred when the road and culvert washed away.

Oakes said the county did what it could.

“I think we responded quickly, and they appreciated our response,” he said of the Glendale residents.

As for the lawyers, “who knows what will happen in the future,” he said.

Meanwhile, an account has been set up at Whidbey Island Bank to help the flood victims. Contributions can be made to the Glendale Relief Fund.

Money raised will be disbursed by the Glendale Water Association board, whose members live in the community.