Landslides
Title
Landslides
Natural Disasters
Creator
http://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/utils/getthumbnail/collection/p16786coll7/id/31
Date
, was a labor of love. Jefferds, 45, and 4-month-old Sanoah were together at the family’s Steelhead Drive home on March 22. Both were lost in the mudslide. Sanoah’s mother, Natasha Huestis, was living with her mother and stepfather, Oso volunteer firefighter Seth Jefferds. Huestis and Seth Jefferds were away from home that Saturday morning. Huestis, 26, will be forever grateful that her mother helped her be a stay-at-home mom after Sanoah was born last Halloween. “I had Sanoah every day,” Huestis said. Christina Annette Jefferds was a 1987 graduate of Arlington High School. She had worked 14 years for Dr. Kelly Peterson, where she was the Marysville dentist’s office manager. “The void she leaves in our office, like the void in our hearts, will be hard to fill,” Peterson wrote on his office website. Christina and Seth Jefferds married in 2007, but Huestis said her mother and stepfather had been together 20 years. As a grandmother, Jefferds was Sanoah’s “Tutu.” And Sanoah’s first name was Hawaiian for “mist in the mountains.” “Together they will remain Mist in the Moun-tains,” Sanoah’s obituary said. She was the mudslide’s youngest victim. — Julie Muhlstein Amanda Lennick Amanda Lennick, 31, had recently purchased her first home along Steelhead Drive. The only problem she had was that the water heater wasn’t working. Contractors were installing a new heater and a satellite dish when the mudslide hit. They all were killed. Lennick was a 2006 graduate of Washington State University’s nursing program. In 2005, she and other students had traveled to Louisiana to assist evacuees from Hurricane Katrina. She had started working for Providence Regional Medical Center Everett about eight months before the slide. Her job was to review medical records to ensure they accurately reflected patient treatments. A coworker at Providence said that she had been very happy to be living in her own home. — Chris Winters Shelley Bellomo and Jerry Logan Shelley Bellomo and Jerry Logan found happiness in their home in the quiet river valley. The couple moved from Seattle to the Steelhead Drive neighborhood of Oso about 20 years ago. Bellomo, 55, was a sweet friend. Logan, 63, was a skilled handyman. Locals called him “Hippie Jerry” in a playful way, a nick-name acknowledging his long gray ponytail and laid-back nature. Logan was always ready to lend a hand. He was known as a skilled worker who repaired homes and fixed cars. A graduate of Seattle’s Ballard High School, he had served in the U.S. Army before running a successful carpet installation business for many years. “Your friendship was so appreciated,” Arling-ton’s Cecilie Drege wrote in the online guestbook accompanying Logan’s obituary. “You were a good man, a kind man, a talented man.” His family said he enjoyed the rhythms of coun-try life and grew ever closer to Bellomo in their time in the valley. Bellomo had lived in Maryland, New Jersey, Nevada and Seattle, but her favorite place was Oso. She loved watching bald eagles along the North Fork Stillaguamish River, and would call her father to share news of Steelhead Drive. Neighbor Ruth Hargrave said if Bellomo saw you, she would “give you a big hug.” “She was a sweet friend,” Darrington’s Gretchen Ensley wrote in the guestbook with Bellomo’s obituary. “She will be missed.” — Julie Muhlstein and Eric Stevick Linda McPherson Linda McPherson was a champion of literacy and of children. A retired branch man-ager of the Darrington Library, she had also served nearly two decades on the Darrington School Board. The daughter of George and Ethel Mahlum, she was born in Arlington on Jan. 6, 1945, and raised on a Darrington-area farm. Her girlhood home was close to the house where she and her hus-band raised two children, Eric and Kate. McPherson, 69, was home with her husband, Gary “Mac” McPherson, on March 22 when their home was slammed by the torrent of mud. Mac tried to help his wife and was rescued. Linda McPherson loved Darrington and the Stillaguamish Valley. She graduated from Dar-rington High School, where in four years she never missed a day. After earning a bachelor’s degree in oceanog-raphy from the University of Washington, she spent a decade as an oceanographer. She met her husband in Nome, Alaska, while working on a research ship. They were married in 1969. When the time came to raise a family, they moved home to Darrington. McPherson worked 28 years for Sno-Isle Librar-ies. Retired Granite Falls librarian Lynette Howard said she decided to serve on the Granite Falls School Board because of her friend’s example. “Linda was my inspiration,” Howard said. — Julie Muhlstein Joseph Miller Joseph Miller loved fishing. He often could be found with his father along riverbanks, casting a line and soaking in the outdoors. The pair had a special rela-tionship. Joseph lived with mental illness. In his obituary, his mother, Mara-lee Hall, described him as “a very gentle, caring person” and “a nature person.” Miller, 47, lived with his dad, Reed Miller, on Steelhead Drive. Reed Miller, 75, said his son was intelligent and fairly independent. Reed Miller was in town buying groceries when a woman at the checkout counter asked him whether he had heard about the mudslide. He tried in vain to reach his son by cellphone. “I never made it home,” he said. At the time, Joseph Miller was waiting to find out whether an apartment for people living with mental illness or disabilities would open up. Family members and friends joined Reed Miller at a graveside service and attended a reception afterward at Arlington’s Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. — Eric Stevick Larry and Sandy Miller Larry and Sandy Miller were devout Christians who put their beliefs into action every day, serv-ing as role models for others. The Millers were building a home along the Stillaguamish River to enjoy in retirement. The couple had already invited friends from church to visit their new place this summer, and they hoped to host church retreats in the future. They were working on the house along with their electrician, Ron deQui-lettes, when the landslide occurred. A roofer by trade, Larry, 58, had done much of the work on the house with friends and family. He even designed the layout. The land along the Stilly reminded Sandy, 64, of her childhood in Alaska. The couple owned a roofing business, Seattle Roof Advi-sor, and attended Northshore Christian Church in Everett, volunteering as leaders in two different ministries. — Dan Catchpole Stephen Neal Stephen Neal, 55, was a devoted family man who ran his own plumbing business in Darrington. He was work-ing with his friend Bill Welsh installing a water heater at Amanda Lennick’s home on Steelhead Drive when the mudslide occurred. Originally from Pittsburgh, Neal grew up on Whidbey Island. After marrying, he and his wife, Brenda, moved to Darrington to raise three children. As his children grew up and had families of their own, Neal became a doting grandfather, entertaining his grandchildren with stories, catch-ing frogs with them near the river, and hosting the extended family for barbecues and camping trips. — Chris Winters Michael Pearson Michael Pearson, 74, was a former police officer who retired to Steelhead Drive because he loved the quiet life. Pearson served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining the Everett Police Department in 1972. He served for 15 years, retiring in 1987. His fellow officers knew him as a straight-talk-ing and dependable cop, a good backup to have along if things got physical. As a police officer, he was known as a good marksman and a good teacher of procedures. Pearson was an avid hunter and fisherman, part of what drew him to the quiet neighborhood east of Oso. — Chris Winters Summer Raffo Summer Raffo, 36, loved the country life surrounded by friends, family, Arabian horses and Yorkshire terriers. The Darrington woman — known for her punctuality and her work ethic — was driving on Highway 530 to a job shoeing horses in Trafton when the slide swept her blue Subaru 400 feet off the roadway and swallowed it in mud. Her family feared the worst right away: Raffo was never late for an appointment. She was one of 13 children, biological and adopted. Hundreds of people attended her memorial service. Raffo grew up as a quiet tomboy. She amassed a large circle of friends through church, her love of horses and working at a mill, on farms and in school. She was adopted as a baby. From the day she was brought home, Raffo was never too far from her mother, Rae Smith. “I’m so sad,” Smith said after the memorial service. “But I need to remember that the entire community lost someone special, not just me.” — Eric Stevick John and Kris Regelbrugge Navy Cmdr. John Regelbrugge III loved going to sea. “He was the consummate professional, and his expertise was unparalleled,” said Navy Region the dead and the missing Continued on next page Continued from previous page 1054932 Thanks to you... Over $900,000 has been distributed through the Cascade Valley Hospital Foundation to the families, communities and rst responders that have been a ected by the Oso mudslide. Your donations provide hope and healing for Oso, Arlington and Darrington. ank you for your generosity. the rising Everett Daily Herald Friday, 05.30.2014 15 Northwest chaplain Capt. John A. Swanson, who served alongside Regelbrugge on the USS Abraham Lincoln. “He had a quick wit and a good sense of humor. But above all, he genu-inely cared about his sailors.” Regelbrugge, 49, and his wife, Kris, 44, were at their Steelhead Drive home the morning of the slide. Kris Regelbrugge is the last of the missing. John Regelbrugge was the officer in charge of the Everett maintenance detachment of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. He was two years from retirement. Regelbrugge served 32 years in the Navy, with 20 of those years at sea, including 13 different deployments. The Regelbrugges, native Californians, are sur-vived by their adult children: two daughters, Sara and Shante; three sons, Kyle, Scott and Brian; as well as two grandchildren. The family especially enjoyed being outdoors, including riding motor-cycles, fishing, hiking and raising chickens. — Gale Fiege Shane, Katie, Hunter and Wyatt Ruthven; JuDee and Lewis Vandenburg Shane and Katie Ruthven were building a beautiful life along the banks of the North Fork Stillaguamish River. Wed in 2007 after falling in love online, the cou-ple were raising two boys, Hunter, 6, and Wyatt, 4. They’d lived along E. Steelhead Drive for about seven years. Their next-door neighbors were Shane’s mother and stepfather, JuDee and Lewis Vandenburg, who’d moved from Spokane. Katie Ruthven, 34, was one of four children raised by Karen and Tom Pszonka, a retired Snohomish County sheriff’s sergeant. She was a graduate of the University of Washington and Henry M. Jackson High School in Mill Creek. Shane Ruthven, 43, grew up in Spokane, where he graduated from Ferris High School. He served in the Navy for four years and then went into the glass business. Katie worked for a time as a paralegal in Everett, but for the past several years she and her husband had run Mountain Lion Glass, a business that replaced windows in buildings. She was a regular volunteer at Kent Prairie Elementary School, where Hunter was a student. Shane coached him in football. Both boys loved the outdoors, particu-larly riding quads. Lewis Vandenburg, 71, and JuDee Vandenburg, 64, had recently marked their 36th wedding anniver-sary. He had served in the Marine Corps, including time spent in Vietnam. He worked for many years as a welder, followed by 15 years as a corrections offi-cer. He retired from the Airway Heights Corrections Center in Spokane County in 2011. JuDee Van-denburg had worked in a variety of retail jobs and reportedly enjoyed most her time as a florist. By all reports, the adults in the Ruthven and Vandenburg homes spent their time doting on the boys and enjoying the freedom of their rural lifestyle along the river’s edge. “The American dream, I’m telling you,” Tom Pszonka said. — Scott North Thom and Marcy Satterlee; Delaney Webb; Alan Bejvl The mudslide that crashed down on the home of Thom and Marcy Satterlee brought a tragic end to two love stories. Delaney Webb, the Satterlees’ granddaughter, was visiting that morning, along with her fiance, Alan Bejvl. The couple were planning an Aug. 16 wedding at the home along the North Fork Stillaguamish River. The Satterlees had been married for 41 years. He often referred to his wife as “my bet-ter seven-eighths.” Bejvl, 21, graduated from Darrington High School in 2011. He grew up in a fam-ily that valued time together. No matter the occasion, whether joining his family for a weekend picnic or summer backpacking trips with his brother, John, 25, or sister, Lisa, 23, the outings always ended the same way. “We never said goodbye,” said his mother, Diana Bejvl. “We say, ‘I love you’ and ‘See you later.’ ” An avid four-wheeler, Alan Bejvl planned to bring Webb to the wedding on his yellow quad, nicknamed Bumblebee. Webb, 19, first met her future fiance during shop class. They later reconnected on Facebook, and their romance deepened. “She was so happy with Alan,” said her mom, Nichole Webb Rivera. “He was a great guy. What a good man.” “It’s an age-old love story,” Diana Bejvl said. “That kind of love is what you want for your kids.” Marcy Satterlee, 61, was a painter, potter, crafter, cook and gardener. She met her future husband while working at a credit union when he came in and opened an account. “They were the yin and yang,” said Debbie Sat-terlee, Thom Satterlee’s sister. Thom Satterlee, 65, was best known for a quix-otic campaign to carve a new government he called Freedom County from a 1,000-square-mile area in Snohomish County. He had lied about his age to join the Marines at 16. Sent to Vietnam, he was wounded and received a medical discharge. He carried emo-tional scars for decades before being treated for post-traumatic stress. “After he was treated, he came back to being the brother I remember in the younger years,” Deb-bie Satterlee said. “He was warm and outgoing. Always cheerful and helpful.” — Sharon Salyer Lon Slauson Lon Slauson was getting ready to sell his Steelhead Drive home and move to Montana. He was counting down the few remaining weeks until he’d be bound for Big Sky country, said his coworker Brad Nordquist. Slauson, 60, died in the mudslide. “We have a lot of people who are affected by this,” said Nordquist, who worked graveyard shifts at Arlington’s Medallion Hotel with Slauson. “He was an awesome guy. He was super nice, always friendly.” Slauson, who had served in the military, watched out for fellow employees, Nordquist said. He often walked people to their cars at night. Slauson started working security after he retired from his career as cement mason. He joined Western Washington’s Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association Local 528 in 1975. That’s the same union his father, Donald Slauson, has been part of for 60 years. One of Slauson’s sons, Daniel Slauson, also picked up the family trade. Lon Slauson is survived by his parents, Donald and Mary Slauson, of Elma; his sons, Ronald and Daniel Slauson; and his daughter, Rachel Catlett. — Amy Nile Billy, Kaylee and Brooke Spillers; Jovon ‘Jojo’ Mangual At the time of his death, Navy Chief Petty Offi-cer Billy L. Spillers, 30, was serving as command career counselor with the Everett maintenance detach-ment of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The Pennsylvania native enlisted in the Navy in 2002. Aboard the Everett-based USS Momsen, he was named “Destroyer Squadron 9 Sailor of the Year” for 2009. He was a 2008 graduate of Strayer University, earning a bach-elor’s degree in business administration. On the morning of the slide, Billy Spillers; his daughters, Kaylee Spillers, 5, and Brooke Spillers, 2; and his stepson, Jovon “Jojo” Mangual, 13, likely were watching TV when the mud swallowed their home. Son Jacob Spillers, 4, was rescued from the mud; the children’s mother and Spiller’s wife, Jonielle Spillers, was not home at the time. Jovon’s classmates from Post Middle School wore yellow shoelaces, the seventh-grader’s favorite color, to his memorial service in Arlington. He also enjoyed sports and played football. Kaylee had not yet started school. The family moved to Oso two years ago. The Spillers celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary in November. At a memorial service at Naval Station Everett in April, fellow sailors talked about Billy Spillers, recalling his hard work, ethical standards and willingness to help others. — Rikki King, Andrea Brown, Gale Fiege Brandy Ward Brandy Ward was a family woman. Her warm spirit put people at ease, said Vickie Bligh, a longtime friend. Ward, 58, died in her Steelhead Drive home. Her husband, Oso Fire Commissioner Timothy Ward, 58, was injured but survived. The couple graduated from a Miami high school in 1973. They headed west to Washington, where they raised their daughters, Tiffany Burdette and Brittany Juarez. Bligh worked with Ward for 20 years at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. Ward, the hospital’s cardiovascular lab secretary, kept the department running smoothly. She had a background in nursing. Doctors often wanted her help and were willing to wait for it. Bligh recalled Ward’s kindness. “She’d be so patient with somebody who was being obtuse,” Bligh said. “She was fabu-lous at the work she did. She did it and she did it well.” The Wards moved to the peaceful place along the North Fork Stillaguamish River before Brandy retired about three years ago. “It was her ideal spot,” Bligh said. “One of the things Brandy loved to do was walk the dogs along the river.” — Amy Nile William Welsh William Welsh, 66, was an electrician who worked for Whitley Evergreen in Marysville for 20 years. He was getting ready to retire, and was at Amanda Lennick’s house in the Steelhead Haven community installing a water heater with his friend Stephen Neal when the slide hit. Welsh was a Vietnam veteran known by family and friends as a giving man who never hesitated to help friends and neighbors. He and his wife, Barbara, lived in Arlington and raised two sons. Welsh coached youth sports and played golf regularly. On Friday nights, his and Barbara’s regular date night, their usual activity was league bowling. — Chris Winters the dead and the missing Continued from previous page 1055411 For 1 05 Years... Cascade Valley Hospital and Clinics has been proud to serve the communities of Arlington, Oso, Silvana, Darrington, Granite Falls, Smokey Point and Lakewood. We are dedicated to providing our community with excellent, a ordable health care, close to home. ank you for continuing to trust us with your healthcare needs. Those who gave aid and support These businesses, people, organizations and governments participated in on-scene rescue and recovery or provided crucial support after the March 22 mudslide in Oso. While every effort has been made to ensure this list is inclusive, it is no doubt incomplete. Please send corrections and additions to [email protected]. BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS 3 Rivers Cutting, Able Land Clearing, Arlington Distributing Co., B&B Cedar Ramo Construction, Boeing Co., Boeing Fire Department, Bradley Construction, Brewer Forestry, Buchanan Construction, Buck Thoms Trucking, Cascade Clearing, Coastal Community Bank, Customized Excavating, D and D Excavating, Dan Rankin, Darling & Sons, David Evans and Associates, DeYoung Logging, DG Construction, Dirt Works, Doley Bradley Construction, Donald Moore Con-struction, ENF Excavating, Erickson Logging. Frontier Communications, Hampton Lumber, Hertz Service Pump and Compressor, HO Staf-ford Trucking and Excavation, Honey Bucket, Hot Dog Stop, IMCO, J&J Logging, Janicki Log Forwarder, Jeff Smith Excavating, Jim Hale Backhoe Service, KCPK Trucking, Little D Timber Cutting, Mr. Haul King Excavation, Nations Arbor and Tree, Nelson Petroleum, NW Cutting Inc., OK Catering, Olympic Security, Rain For Rent, Ramo Construction, Rapid Rock Trucking, Reece Truck-ing and Excavation, Rhodes River Ranch, Robert Sarston, Roggenbuck Timber, S&R Logging, Spanky’s Trucking, Stewart Hauling, SVS Seattle Vet Specialists, Swede Creek Logging, TD Alskog Co., United Port-A-Potty, Washington Trucking and Compost, Whitehorse Enterprises. EDUCATION Arlington School District, Darrington School District, University of Washington. TRIBES Nooksack Indian Tribe, Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians, Tulalip Tribes. ORGANIZATIONS AND NONPROFITS American Red Cross, Billy Graham Association, Cascade Valley Hospital, Disaster Relief NW, Foursquare Disaster Relief, Franciscan Health Systems, Green Cross, HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response, Mount Baker Baptist Associa-tion, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Northwest Baptist Convention, Provi-dence Regional Medical Center Everett, Seattle/ King County Dental Society, Snohomish County Dental Society, Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief, The Soup Ladies, United Way, Washington State Veterinary Medical Associa-tion, World Vision. STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND AGENCIES Benton County Fire District 1, Chelan County Fire District 8, City of Arlington, City of Bellevue, City of Bothell, City of Duvall, City of Issaquah, City of Kirkland, City of Lynnwood, City of Renton, City of Seattle, City of Snohomish, City of Stanwood, City of Tukwila, Clallam County Fire District 3, Clark County Fire and Rescue, Clark Regional Emergency Services, Columbia County Emergency Management, Columbia County Fire, Cowlitz County, Cowlitz County Fire. Darrington Fire District 24, Eastside Fire and Res-cue, Everett Fire Department, Everett Police De-partment, FWS Washington State, Garfield County Fire District 1, Grays Harbor K9, Kennewick Fire Department, Kent Fire Department, King County, King County Department of Public Defense, King County Elections, King County Emergency Operations Center, King County Fire District 44, King County Fire District 50, King County Medical Examiner, King County Sheriff’s Office, Kitsap County Central Communications, Kitsap County Fire, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office K9 unit, Kittitas County Search and Rescue, Marysville Fire District, Mason County Sheriff’s Office, Mukilteo Fire Department. North County Regional Fire Authority, North East King County Regional Public Safety Communica-tion Agency, Northwest Washington Incident Man-agement Team, Oregon Department of Forestry, Oso Fire Department, Pacific Police Department, Pierce County 4X4 Search and Rescue, Pierce County Department of Emergency Management, Pierce County Medical Examiner, Pierce County Public Works, Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, Port of Everett, Renton Police Department, Rich-land Fire Department, Rockport Fire District 13. San Juan County Fire, Seattle Fire Department, Seattle Police Department, Sedro-Woolley Fire Department, Shoreline Fire Department, Skagit County Coroner’s Office, Skagit County Fire District 2, Skagit County Fire District 9, Skagit County Fire Protection District 13, Skagit County K9, Skykomish Fire District 50, Snohomish County Critical Incident Stress Management Team, Snohomish County Emergency Operations Center, Snohomish County Executive’s Office, Snohomish County Fire District 1, Snohomish County Fire District 3, Snohomish County Fire District 4, Snohomish County Fire District 5, Sno-homish County Fire District 7, Snohomish County Fire District 8, Snohomish County Fire District 15, Snohomish County Fire District 19, Snohomish County Fire District 21, Snohomish County Fire District 22, Snohomish County Fire District 26, Snohomish County Fire District 28, Snohomish County Public Works, Snohomish County Roads Department, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, Snohomish County Police Staff and Auxiliary Services Center, Snohomish Health District. Southwest Snohomish County Communications Agency, Spokane County Department of Emer-gency Management, Spokane County Fire, Spo-kane County Sheriff’s Office, Thurston County Technical Rescue, Town of Darrington, Tukwila Fire Department, Vancouver Fire Department, Washington Department of Agriculture, Wash-ington Department of Corrections, Washington Department of Ecology, Washington Department of Health, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Washington Department of Social and Health Services, Washington Department of Transportation, Washington State Patrol, Wash-ington State Patrol DNA Lab, Whatcom County Fire, Whatcom Unified Emergency Management Team, Woodinville Fire District , Yakima County Sheriff Search and Rescue K-9 Team FEDERAL AGENCIES AND MILITARY Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, U.S. Air Force, Fairchild Air Force Base, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army Reserve Veterinary Corps, U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Sur-vey, U.S. National Guard, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. National Park Service, U.S. National Weather Service, U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Washington National Guard. 16 Friday, 05.30.2014 Everett Daily Herald the rising SECTION CREDITS Main story: Eric Stevick, Rikki King and Scott North Obituaries: Andrea Brown, Quinn Russell Brown, Dan Catchpole, Gale Fiege, Noah Haglund, Rikki King, Julie Muhlstein, Amy Nile, Scott North, Sharon Salyer, Eric Stevick and Chris Winters Photography: Dan Bates, Sofia Jaramillo, Genna Martin, Annie Mulligan and Mark Mulligan Design: Katie Mayer Section editor: Robert Frank This story told in these pages would not have been possible without insights and assistance from many people. Here is a partial list: Jeff Anderson, Richard Andraschko, John Batiste, Beau Beckner, Gail Blacker, Parry Boogard, Dayn Brunner, Shari Brewer, Kristopher Clark, Rhonda and Frank Cook, Evan Craig, Jennifer Egger, Cynthia Fajardo, Randy Fay, Marc Ford, Linda Freilinger, Dan Good, Scott Goodale, Jeff Griffiths, Terry Haldeman, Isaac Hall, Willy Harper, Tom Hawkins, Wendy Helm, Barbara Hinshaw, Rebecca Hover, Natasha Huestis, Tom Huey, Howard Hunter, Toby Hyde, Shari Ireton, the Kuntz family, Kathi Lang, LoAnna and Kris Langton, Brenda LaSalle, Heather Logan, John Lovick, Micah Lund borg, Todd Magliocca, Brent McIntyre, Scott Mielcarek, Bronlea Mishler, Scott and Erika Morris, Lorraine Nations, Quinn Nations, Paul Naumann, Gary Nevius, Leo Notenboom, Sally Page, Kevin Paggao, Bill Quistorf, Dan Rankin, Tina and Gary Ray, Jeff Sass, David Scott, Kathie Sickenberger, Gregg Sieloff, Amanda Skorjanc, Vance Tjossem, Barbara Tolbert, Ty Trenary, Ian Walton, David Waner, Mike Welding, Ben Wells, Michael Wenzel, Ken Wesson, Bill Westlake, Danny Wikstrom, Chuck Wright, Shane Wright, Sean Wright, Elaine and Don Young, Ernie Zeller. Our thanks By Scott North Herald Writer OSO — A great deal of hard work remains ahead connected to the deadly March 22 mudslide. Here is some of what will be attracting attention in the coming months: Recovery: Although the active search has been sus-pended, efforts will continue to find the last victim missing and presumed killed in the slide. Searchers have reason to hope the earth will give up Kris Regel-brugge, 44. Meanwhile, efforts continue to identify and return personal property to families whose homes were destroyed. Road: Contractors are working around the clock to remove mil-lions of cubic yards of earth and other debris covering Highway 530. It is unknown at this time how much repair work will be necessary or exactly how much that will cost. The state hopes to reopen the highway in October. River: The North Fork Still-aguamish River, blocked by the slide, is a big unknown. Crews have carved a temporary chan-nel, but the river may have other ideas, particularly when flood season returns in the fall. Regulation: Snohomish County is taking a fresh look at building around landslide hazard areas. Meanwhile, the state has begun examining its logging reg-ulations and already has enacted requirements for more geotech-nical study in slide risk zones. Aid: The landslide’s destruc-tion has left many people who call the Stillaguamish Valley home struggling to sort out the basics, including shelter and employment. FEMA claims are being processed. Tax authorities are identifying which properties were destroyed. Efforts already are under way to rebuild the economy in the affected area. Litigation: Several multimil-lion- dollar damage claims already have been brought against state and county government on behalf of families who lost people and property in the slide. Lawsuits have not yet been filed, but that seems a certainty. Lawyers say the litigation is necessary to get answers for the victims’ families. Science: Experts say it is going to take some digging in the dirt to determine precisely why the hill collapsed. A number of theories have been advanced — heavy rains, unstable soils, the effects of logging, and combinations of the above — but the data also suggest the slide was an outlier, covering a far greater distance than anyone ever predicted. No matter what scientists decide, the findings almost certainly will challenge strongly held opinions. Healing: The death toll has left many Stilly Valley families strug-gling to move ahead with loss. This is a place where deaths have long been marked with community dinners and other public grieving. While nobody living here has faced anything like the slide before, the people are no strang-ers to struggle. “Everyone is going to sur-vive this. They are going to get through it,” said Darrington’s Lorraine Nations. “It may take a while. Hopefully it makes us all stronger people.” What the months ahead hold for the valley GENNA MARTIN / THE HERALD The flag flies at half staff outside the Darrington fire station on March 26.
Description
text
Subject
North, Scott
Stevick, Eric
King, Rikki
Martin, Genna
Bates, Dan
Mulligan, Annie
Mulligan, Mark
Jaramillo, Sofia
Source
none
Relation
Northwest Digital Heritage
References
full:001:http://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/utils/getthumbnail/collection/p16786coll7/id/31
Collection
Citation
http://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/utils/getthumbnail/collection/p16786coll7/id/31, “Landslides,” Center for Knit and Crochet Digital Repository, accessed September 14, 2026, https://digital.centerforknitandcrochet.org/items/show/39076.
Added by Rebecca Keyel
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