State pays $800,000 for mudslide damage
Published 8:22 am Friday, April 23, 2010
OLYMPIA — The state Department of Natural Resources has agreed to pay $800,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the owner of restaurant destroyed by a mudslide west of Olympia.
The owner of the Ranch House BBQ claimed that dangerous forest practices approved by the state on the slopes of Rock Candy Mountain caused the slide that hit the restaurant in December 2007 off Highway 8 near Summit Lake.
A DNR spokesman, Aaron Toso, told The Olympian the state does not admit liability but settled the lawsuit to minimize the cost of a court battle.
Owner Amy Anderson has built a new restaurant on the site.
Information from: The Olympian, www.theolympian.com
