MOUNT VERNON — Highway 20 near Rainy Pass could be closed for days, and possibly into the weekend, as state Department of Transportation crews clear multiple mudslides that happened over the weekend.The road, also known as North Cascades Highway, was officially closed at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, the DOT reports. Two vehicles were trapped between two slides, but no one was injured.
“We can’t confirm at this point when it will reopen,” said DOT spokesman Dave Chesson. “It could be days.”
Initially there were two mudslides, but by Sunday afternoon, the DOT had discovered eight separate slides, including one a quarter-mile long and up to 25 feet deep.
The highway is closed between mile marker 147 at the winter gate and mile marker 152 at Rainy Pass, according to a press release.
Private contractors are moving in to clear the debris. Pictures taken by a DOT employee show a thick slurry of mud that carried trees and boulders across the highway.
“I’m just glad that we didn’t have anybody hurt,” Chesson said. “Clearly those things came down, and they came down fast. That’s nature at its rawest when you’re up there.”
Chesson said the DOT was having crew members assess the damage Monday, but that they might have to leave if weather turns bad, he said.
“If that weather comes in when we are trying to clean up, we may have to move out of that area for the safety of the crews,” he said. “It must have been one heck of a storm. In my eight years of being here, I’ve never seen this.”
Thunderstorms on Saturday could easily have dropped a half an inch of rain in an hour, said Dana Felton, a meteorologist with the Seattle office of the National Weather Service.
“We are not going to see anything like that coming up,” Felton said. “The worst is behind us.”
The North Cascades area could see some rain showers Thursday and generally cooler temperatures, Felton said.
Chesson said engineers will examine nearby slopes to determine when it is safe to travel through the area again.
