Sheriff: 3 killed in big Snohomish County mudslide

OSO, Wash. — At least three people have been killed and nearly a dozen injured Saturday when a wall of mud crashed into a half-dozen homes east of Arlington, Wash., according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.

At least six houses were destroyed when the mud slammed into the homes and cascaded over state Highway 530 four miles east of the town of Oso, said Lt. Rodney Rochon, head of the sheriff’s special operations. Authorities are unsure exactly how many homes were damaged and are searching for additional victims.

“It happened right in front of me,” said Paulo de Oliveira of Lynnwood, Wash., who was driving on Highway 530 when the slide hit around 11 a.m. “I was behind a truck pulling a boat, and then it hit. In 3 seconds, everything got washed away. Darkness covering the whole roadway and one house right in the middle of the street.”

Kane Conner said his mother-in-law suffered a broken finger and her friend was bruised when the slide suddenly smashed into their home. They were able to walk away and yell to neighbors for help, he said.

Conner said the home was destroyed.

“Other than the hundred bucks or so in my pocket, everything’s gone,” said Conner. “We’re still really in shock.”

Rochon said a 6-month-old baby was airlifted to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center. Hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg said the baby was in critical condition.

Two other victims are also in the hospital: a 37-year-old man in serious condition and another man, age and condition unknown. In addition a fourth victim, a 68-year-old man, is en route to the hospital, Gregg said.

Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington has received five victims, one of whom was later released. Three of the four apparently have minor injuries and could be released later Saturday, said Heather Logan, the hospital’s assistant administrator.

Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon reported that it is treating one critical patient with pelvic injuries.

The mudslide sent tons of debris into the river, causing the river to overflow its banks. Fearing a potential for flooding, officials are asking residents near the slide to evacuate their homes. An emergency shelter has been opened at Post Middle School in Arlington.

Officials urged people to stay away from the area Saturday afternoon as the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River threatened to break through or spread around it, potentially causing further destruction.

“While we are not issuing an evacuation order at this time, we need residents upstream and downstream of the slide to prepare to leave their homes at a moment’s notice,” said Bronlea Mishler, deputy director of communications for Snohomish County. “We are asking residents to prepare their homes, pets, livestock, etc. for immediate evacuation if and when it becomes necessary.”

More than 100 rescuers are looking for additional victims who may have been inside the destroyed houses. One of the search teams had to be rescued after they got stuck in the mud.

Two hovercrafts were being brought in to the area for rescue efforts.

David Logan, 58, Seattle, was among those waiting near the barricade on Highway 530. He said his brother lives in the area hit by the slide and he hasn’t heard from him.

“I know his house is destroyed,” Logan said.

Rochon described the mudslide as at least 40 yards wide and 100 yards from top to bottom. The six houses were destroyed on the south side of the river.

Authorities are trying to get to the north side of the river to assess the damage.

Rochon said there is concern about water flow in the river, which is backed up by debris.

It will take “easily a week” to unblock the river, Rochon said. He said rescue operations and a broader search will need to be completed before heavier equipment can be brought in.

“I haven’t seen anything like this,” he said. What remains from the houses, is “not good even for construction material.”

“I came within about 50 feet of being washed out,” said de Oliveira, the Lynnwood man driving near the slide.

He said he heard a woman screaming from one of the homes destroyed by the slide.

“Along the river, I saw one place where there were two homes and they were just gone. Nothing left but a portable toilet … destruction all over. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen.”

De Oliveira was on his way to pick up his children, who live in Darrington, Wash., with their mother.

Mud, trees and other debris is blocking both directions of Highway 530, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Red Cross officials converged on Post Middle School in Arlington, where they were to set up a shelter for victims of the slide and evacuated residents. Nobody had arrived by 4 p.m., and Red Cross disaster-relief coordinator Andy Hamack said the effort was in its earliest stages.

But already, people were dropping off blankets, dry goods, cases of bottled water and other necessities. Hamack said that, at this point, the best thing members of the community can do is donate money. “Cash,” he said. “Right now, that what we’re going to need.”

Hamack said he had no idea, at this point, how many people to expect.

“We don’t know very much,” he said.

Snohomish County has been saturated with rain this month, establishing the kind of unstable terrain that can lead to mudslides, said Johnny Burg, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The weather service doesn’t keep statistics for the town of Oso, but it does for Arlington, which is about 12 miles southwest. As of Wednesday — the last day for which the weather service has a report — Arlington had recorded 7.14 inches of rain for the month. That’s just 2 inches shy of the wettest March on record for Arlington, and that total, 9.23 inches, was for the entire month.

Darrington, another town not far from Oso, received close to an inch of rain on Wednesday alone, Burg said.

Law-enforcement officers are going door to door in the area to evacuate residents.

Emergency workers are also using the reverse 911 phone system to alert people along the highway from the slide area to the town of Arlington, about 14 miles.

Slides and floods have long threatened Oso and other nearby communities.

In January 2006, Snohomish County declared a state of emergency when a mudslide blocked the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, diverting water and threatening about a dozen homes in the Steelhead Drive area of Oso.

At that time, about 300 yards of a hillside slid into the river. The Army Corps of Engineers, assisted by others, fortified the new channel with logs and rocks along the river’s edge, hoping to keep the Stillaguamish from nearby homes and yards.

Flooding on the Stillaguamish also threatened homes in 2010 and 1995, among other years.

Update: Flood watch in Snohomish Co. following slide

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — A flash flood watch has been issued for Snohomish County following a deadly landslide that has blocked the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River near Oso.

Snohomish County authorities say the Saturday landslide killed two and destroyed six houses.

The National Weather Service says that if the blockage caused by the landslide gives way, flash flooding downstream to Arlington is possible.

The weather service says roads, some houses and many fields could flood if flash flooding happens.

The flash flood watch is in effect through Sunday afternoon.

The story as of 3 p.m. Saturday

SEATTLE (AP) — Two people died in a massive mudslide Saturday, and others were injured, the Snohomish County sheriff’s office reported.

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Bronlea Mishler says two died after an estimated mile-long slide carried a house with people inside across a rural road north of Seattle just before 11 a.m. Saturday.

Five people injured in the Snohomish County landslide have been brought to a nearby hospital for treatment, said spokeswoman Jennifer Egger of Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington.

It’s unclear if the two killed are among those injured, or if any of those people were inside the house that was swept away.

Cascade Valley Hospital was expecting more injured people, but Egger said she didn’t know how many and couldn’t comment on the condition of those already at the hospital because they were still being evaluated.

The American Red Cross has set up at the hospital and is seeking donations of food, water, blankets and clothing, Egger said.

The Daily Herald reported that as of 1 p.m., officials were moving rescuers back from the scene, citing concerns of the North Fork Stillaguamish River rising because of the mudslide.

“Initial reports were that a house was stuck in the slide, and someone was calling for help inside,” Trooper Mark Francis said.

Search-and-rescue operations are underway by Snohomish County crews and the Washington State Patrol.

The Washington Department of Transportation says mud, trees and building materials are blocking both directions of State Route 530 near the town of Oso, about 55 miles north of Seattle.

Heavy rain over this past week likely contributed to the mudslide. Saturday’s weather was sunny and clear.

Spokesman Bart Treece of the Washington State Department of Transportation said he doesn’t know how long the two-lane rural road will be closed. Drivers are advised to find another way to get between Darrington and Arlington, he said.

“We’re standing by ready to help out where we can,” Treece said.