Work begins on berm at debris field

OSO — Workers on Monday began to construct a temporary wall of rock and dirt across the Oso mudslide debris field.

The berm will connect two areas of high ground and allow crews to drain floodwater from areas that have not yet been searched for bodies.

A 400-foot section of berm was built Monday out of an estimated 1,800 feet that’s needed, said Mike Peele with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Construction could take a week.

Searchers and their dogs have gone over the area in boats, on the east side of the slide near C-Post Road. They have reasons to focus recovery efforts there, slide spokeswoman Meg Matthews said Monday.

Geologists continue to monitor the ground. No unexpected movement has been detected in recent days.

The death toll from the March 22 slide reached 33 on Monday, with 30 of the victims identified. Twelve people remain missing.

Funerals are expected to continue for weeks.

Highway 530 between Darrington and Arlington remains closed indefinitely. The earliest estimate for re-opening so far is still measured in weeks.

Nearly 900 searchers remain on scene, looking for people and recovering property lost when the mudslide devoured homes.

The berm is expected to help crews access the area east of C-Post Road, on the Darrington side of the slide.

Water has been a problem on the site from the beginning, including flooding from the North Fork Stillaguamish River, and rainfall that has turned stable ground into a slurry. A half-inch of rain is expected Tuesday, with drier days to follow.

Crews are making progress on clearing Highway 530, Deputy Snohomish County Executive Mark Ericks told the County Council on Monday.

About 3,000 feet of the highway has been cleared of debris — nearly half of the area that was covered, he said.

“It’s uncertain what the roadway will be like once we do get it all cleared, whether it’ll be passable or will need to be rebuilt; most people believe that it will have to be rebuilt in one form or fashion,” he said.

The Army Corps of Engineers is assisting county crews with the temporary berm.

A piece of equipment that resembles a track hoe on pontoons was helping to dig out the river channel and prevent the river from eroding the bottom of the hillside, Ericks said.

The rock berm will be about 10 feet tall. Up to 10 feet of water remains on the ground nearby, covering an area the size of more than 30 football fields, crews said.

Each area of the debris field must be searched four separate times, according to FEMA.

Meanwhile, solar-powered machines called “spiders” are positioned in the slide area. The machines carry GPS units and deliver real-time information for vibrations and ground movements as small as a centimeter, said Rick LaHusen with the U.S. Geological Survey.

The spiders were developed originally for studying volcanos, he said.

Scientists also are using lasers and other tools to scan the ground. They are taking daily and hourly measurements.

Snohomish County on Monday had documented nearly $4.3 million in expenses during the first two weeks of the slide response, Ericks said.

The county expects to receive reimbursement for 75 percent of eligible costs from the federal government. Washington state is likely to cover half of the remaining 25 percent. There’s some doubt, however, that all disaster-related costs will qualify.

As of Monday evening, 229 people had signed up for housing assistance in connection with the slide, according to FEMA.

“I will tell you right now that not all costs are reimbursable,” Ericks said. “Sometimes, during the emergency phase of an operation, you do what you have to do to save lives without regard to cost or source of revenues.”

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

Tax deadline extended

Families and businesses who were impacted by the March 22 mudslide near Oso have until Oct. 15 to complete their taxes and tax paperwork, according to an Internal Revenue Service announcement on Monday. That includes tribal members.

People who worked in the slide response but don’t live in the disaster area can get help at 866-562-5227.

More info: disasterassistance.gov.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.