Landslide temporarily strands residents near Index

INDEX — A landslide on Mt. Index River Road overnight Tuesday caused traffic closures, power outages and other problems that were expected to persist into Thursday morning.

Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies were summoned to the area early Wednesday, said spokeswoman Shari Ireton.

The slide had dumped up to four feet of downed trees, dirt and other debris onto the road, Index Fire Chief Ernie Walters said.

Additional materials slid as the day went on, complicating cleanup efforts. Work at the site was expected to continue Thursday, officials said.

Roughly 300 Snohomish County Public Utility District customers lost power because of the slide. The first reported outages lasted from about 9 p.m. Tuesday to 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, utility spokesman Neil Neroutsos said. Additional outages were reported throughout the day and expected to continue Thursday.

Utility crews needed to temporarily remove some power lines, and the homeowners were working with a contractor to get downed and leaning trees out of the way, Neroutsos said. Some folks were stranded in their neighborhood before cleanup started, Ireton said. No injuries were reported.

Neighbors also received automated incident-notification calls from the county Department of Emergency Management early Wednesday morning.

The slide was reported between the 50300 and 51500 blocks of the road. Much of the road and surrounding area is private land.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449, rking@heraldnet.com.

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