EVERETT — Kim Lines was packing up her belongings Saturday preparing to leave the house she rents in the Valley View neighborhood.
Throughout the day her cul-de-sac was busy with people driving by to see her next-door neighbor’s house. The 1970s-era split level was leaning at a 45-degree angle toward the ravine where a landslide has claimed the back yards of about five properties along Burl Avenue and Panaview Boulevard.
Off her back deck, Lines has a peek-a-boo view of the Cascade Range and the Snohomish River valley. But she also looks at 100-year-old Douglas fir trees that are leaning dramatically on the sloughing slope.
The soggy earth has slumped and fallen almost 10 feet since the beginning of March when cracks opened up in her back yard, Lines said.
“I’m so glad it didn’t rain today,” she said.
Around the corner her neighbor Jay Himmelman was busy shoring up what’s left of his back yard. His house, built in 1985, is probably safe from the slide because the house was built on pillars sunk deep into the ground, he said. Some of his neighbors may not be as lucky.
As of Saturday, two homes have been declared unsafe to enter, marked with a red tag by city officials. A third home was marked with a yellow tag, meaning only limited access was allowed.
“This whole ravine is wet,” Himmelman said. “This is a big event.”
It’s a serious situation for these Everett neighbors, made even worse by the fact that most homeowners’ insurance policies don’t cover landslides unless separate coverage is purchased.
The neighborhood is scheduled to meet with city staff on Wednesday to see what can be done and what might be causing the landslide.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
