Washington state community remembers victims of landslide

OSO — Community members held an event in Washington state to commemorate the deaths of 43 people in a landslide six years ago.

About 50 people huddled around a memorial site near Oso Sunday to remember the victims of the 2014 landslide, ranging from infants to people in their 90s, The Daily Herald reports.

An estimated 282.5 million cubic feet (8 million cubic meters) of earth slid off a forested hill near Highway 530 into the community’s Steelhead Haven neighborhood.

A bronze sculpture of the residents’ mailboxes was unveiled last year. A row of shrubs adorned with named wooden hearts memorializes the victims.

“Six years ago our lives were turned upside down,” said Darrington resident Dayn Brunner, whose sister, Summer Raffo, died in the disaster.

“We come here together for comfort, for love and for security,” Brunner said.

Oso Fire Department Chief Willy Harper and department Chaplain Joel Johnson read the names of the victims and rang a bell before naming the 11 survivors.

Memorial coins have been produced to raise funds for construction of other permanent structures commemorating the victims.