Washington Flags at Half-Staff Today: What the Order Covers and How to Lower Yours Correctly

Nov. 9

Washington and U.S. flags at half-staff at state agency facilities

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Spokane County deputies honored: Mason Acheson and Parker Perry

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Half-staff means halfway between the top and bottom of the staff (4 U.S.C. § 7)

Nov. 11

Veterans Day, one of the days the Flag Code lists for flying the flag

If you drove into Vancouver or anywhere in Washington this morning and saw flags lowered over state offices, this is why.

Our thoughts are with the families of Deputies Acheson and Perry and with everyone at the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. Because we sell flags and flagpoles, we also get the practical questions on days like this: who has to lower the flag, how to do it properly, and what to do when the flag on your porch can’t be lowered at all. Here are the answers.

Why are Washington flags at half-staff today?

Gov. Ferguson directed that Washington State and United States flags at all state agency facilities be lowered to half-staff on Monday, November 9, 2026, and remain there until the close of business, KIRO 7 reported. The governor said he was “deeply saddened by the deaths of Spokane County Deputy Sheriffs Mason Acheson and Parker Perry.”

According to KIRO 7, the deputies were critically injured after responding on November 3 to a call in Spangle, near Spokane. The governor’s flag page lists the directive as “Flag Lowering - November 9, 2026 (Deputy Sheriffs Acheson & Perry),” and Shoreline Area News published the directive on November 7.

Who has to lower the flag, and who is invited to?

The authority comes from the U.S. Flag Code. Under 4 U.S.C. § 7(m), a governor may proclaim that the U.S. flag fly at half-staff when a first responder from the state dies in the line of duty. Washington’s governor lists the line-of-duty death of a public safety member among the occasions when he will direct flags lowered.

For Oregon readers: Oregon flag orders come from Gov. Tina Kotek and cover “Oregon public institutions,” issued under the same Flag Code, as in her August 2026 order for a firefighter who died fighting a wildfire. A Washington directive doesn’t apply in Oregon.

Washington wasn’t the only state this week

Half-staff orders came from several governors in the same week, most for first responders.

Sources: KIRO 7, KIVI, WKYC, Lansing State Journal and The Patriot Ledger (links below).

How to fly a flag at half-⁠staff: the Flag Code steps

There’s a right way to do it, and it isn’t just lowering the flag partway in the morning. The Flag Code spells it out.

• Same pole, same rule. If a state or other flag flies below the U.S. flag on the same halyard, it comes down with it.
• After dark. The Flag Code’s custom is to fly the flag from sunrise to sunset, or 24 hours a day if it’s properly lit at night (4 U.S.C. § 6).
• In bad weather. The code says not to fly the flag in inclement weather unless it’s an all-weather flag.

How long do flags stay at half-staff?

For national figures, the Flag Code sets the length. For state officials and first responders, the governor’s order does, and it’s often tied to the memorial service.

The part most coverage missed: what if your flag can’t come down?

Most flags on Portland and Vancouver homes don’t fly from a halyard pole. They sit on a short pole in an angled bracket by the front door, and there’s no way to lower one to half-staff.

The Flag Code doesn’t cover this. The American Legion’s Jeff Hendricks has called a black ribbon or streamer at the top of the flag “an accepted patriotic practice for a display of mourning,” Legacy.com reported, adding that the ribbon should be about the length of the flag and the width of one stripe.

• Bracket or wall pole: tie a black mourning ribbon at the top, as the Legion describes, and let it hang.
• Flag flat on a wall: leave it as it is, or follow the same ribbon custom at the top edge.
• Want true half-staff at home or at work? You need a pole with a halyard, the rope or internal cable that raises and lowers the flag. If you’re shopping for a flagpole, ask for one with a halyard.

Veterans Day is Wednesday: back to flying high

Today’s order ends at close of business. Wednesday, November 11, is Veterans Day, which is not a half-staff day: it’s one of the days the Flag Code lists for displaying the flag (4 U.S.C. § 6(d)). In Washington, state law (RCW 1.20.017) also requires state agencies, public colleges and universities, counties, cities and towns to display the POW/MIA flag with the state and national flags on Veterans’ Day, according to the governor’s office.

How to know when flags should be at half-staff

• Washington: the governor’s office offers email alerts whenever Gov. Ferguson directs flags lowered, from its flag lowering page.
• Oregon: Gov. Kotek’s flag orders are posted as news releases from the governor’s office.
• Nationwide: presidential proclamations set national half-staff days, and governors issue matching directives.

Flags should remain at half-staff until the close of business on Monday, November 9, 2026.

What this means for your flag

If you fly a U.S. or Washington flag on a halyard pole, today is a day to lower it, the Flag Code way: up to the peak, down to half-staff, and back to the peak before it comes down this evening. If yours sits in a bracket, a black ribbon is the accepted alternative. On Wednesday, fly it high for Veterans Day.

Our flags and flagpoles at our Portland flag store on NW Nela Street include U.S., Oregon, state and military flags, plus aluminum, steel and fiberglass flagpoles. You can also order flags online. For everyday rules, see our guide to flag etiquette, and for Oregon’s two-sided flag, the Oregon state flag. We serve Vancouver and Clark County too; see our service area.