Chelan County’s Departments, Offices Begin Third Week with System-Wide Disruptions

Several work-arounds are in place to keep communication and processes moving forward

information released

Offices and departments at Chelan County today began the third week of a system-wide disruption that started over the Memorial Day weekend.

On May 24, we became aware of malware affecting our network. In an abundance of caution, we promptly shut down our network and began an investigation to determine the nature and scope of the event.

We continue to work with third-party specialists to not only determine what happened but also securely restore operations. This investigation is ongoing. We have also reported the incident to federal law enforcement.

Email, phone and computer systems remain down across the county’s departments. If you attempt to email us, you will not get a notice saying it arrived or bounced back. If you try to call a county office, the phone will be busy.

Our websites are also down. The county operates its main website as well as websites for Ohme Gardens, the Chelan County Fair, the Chelan County Expo Center and the Wenatchee River County Park.

We do not have a timeline for restoration of our systems.

However, county offices are open at the Wenatchee campus, as are Ohme Gardens, the Expo Center, the county park, the Dryden Transfer Station and the Moderate Risk Waste Facility. Only the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office counter is closed to the public.

Some offices have set up temporary email addresses or phone numbers, which are listed below. Offices also have been regularly updating the public on such topics as jury duty, building inspections, recording and more on the county’s Facebook page.

If you need to speak with a county department, it is best to visit the office during regular business hours. Please remember that we are unable to look up items such as permits or applications. If you must make a payment, please bring the exact cash or a check.

“The restoration of our systems is going to feel like a slow process, but we must bring our systems back online safely and methodically,” said Commissioner Shon Smith, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners. “Unfortunately, communication tools such as email and our telephone system may be one of the last things we can bring back online.”

Last week, the Board of County Commissioners declared a state of emergency in response to the system-wide disruption. The declaration allows for the board to sign any emergency service contracts without a formal bidding process. Commissioners are holding regular session; however, the Zoom link is unavailable at this time.

Individual department updates are being posted to the county’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Press releases are also being posted to the Chelan County Emergency Management Facebook page.

Due to the ongoing nature of our investigation, we do not have more information to share. We will provide relevant updates as we are able. We thank you all for your patience during this time.

Please watch for this newsletter to return to regular news and updates once we are up and running again.

Community Development:

All building inspection requests must be made in person or by calling 509-679-7402 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Do not call individual inspectors; they are not taking inspection requests. Inspection requests must include:

Building permit number
Site address
Inspection requested and day
Contact name and phone number
AM/PM preference

All other inquiries that are urgent in nature can be emailed to our temporary email address: chelancountyplanning@gmail.com

Building permit submittals may be uploaded to our cloud-based public portal at co-chelan-wa.smartgovcommunity.com/public/home If you have submitted a building permit via the portal in the last week and have not heard from Community Development, call 509-679-7402 to confirm receipt.

Jury Duty:

Jurors scheduled to call for the week of June 8-12 are excused and done for the term.

Chelan County Superior Court

Superior Court is operating with some limitations. Assume that your case is going to be heard as scheduled unless you hear otherwise from court staff. Our emails and phones are still down. Please make sure that you provide a paper judge’s copy for any pleadings that you file. If you need to reach the court, you can email chelancountysuperiorcourt@gmail.com.

Chelan County District Court

Pursuant to GR 21, there is an emergency court closure. All out-of-custody District Court hearings and trials for June 8-10 are hereby rescheduled. Notice of a new hearing schedule will be sent out at a later date. Due to technology failure issues, all hearings and trials, except jail in-custody defendants for criminal appearances, shall be continued. This reschedule order includes out-of-custody Trial Status hearings.

Assessor’s Office:

If you are applying for the senior exemption program, we are able to make copies of your income documents for the application. We will hold on to applications for processing when our systems are back up. In addition, the 2026 Notice of Values for 2027 taxes were originally planned to be mailed on June 19. This may be delayed; mailing is dependent on our systems being back up.

Auditor’s Office:

We are taking only checks for recording services. Items submitted for recording will be recorded when systems are back up. In addition, people planning to apply for a marriage license in Chelan County are asked to go to the county auditor’s office in nearby Douglas or Grant counties. A marriage license can be applied for in any county in the state; it does not require that you marry in the county where you file.

Coroner’s Office:

If you have an urgent need to reach the coroner, you can call RiverCom’s business line at 663-9911 and a dispatcher will contact the Coroner’s Office.