OSO, Wash. — Tuesday marks the eighth anniversary of the deadliest landslide in United States’ history.
At 10:37 a.m. on March 22, 2014, a rain-soaked hillside near Oso, Washington collapsed, sending around 18 million tons of sand, till and clay into the community of Steelhead Haven in Snohomish County.
The Oso landslide, also called the SR 530 landslide, engulfed the community and destroyed 49 homes and structures. Forty-three people were killed.
The landslide covered an area 1,500 feet long and 4,400 feet wide and left debris 30 to 70 feet deep. The overall size of the landslide was 270 million cubic feet. Nearly a mile of SR 530 was covered in debris.
The landslide dammed North Fork Stillaguamish River, creating a temporary lake about 2.5 miles long, according to the United States Geological Survey. The lake flooded houses and other structures in the Steelhead Haven community before the river eroded between six to eight weeks after the landslide occurred.
More than 900 responders worked alongside volunteers to help with the search and recovery efforts. The last victim was recovered on July 22, 2014.
Memorial to honor those lost
A tribute to the victims has been growing at the scene of the landslide since 2014. Forty-three trees were planted at the site, one for each victim who died in the disaster. A mailbox sculpture was also installed to honor the neighborhood that was wiped away.
In 2019, a 23-mile stretch of SR 530 between Arlington and Darrington was renamed to honor and remember those lost. The Washington State Transportation Commission unanimously approved a resolution to rename the roadway the "Oso Slide Memorial Highway.”
Snohomish County Parks and Recreation has been working to create a permanent memorial at the site to honor “those who were lost, those who survived, the responders and the resilience of the surrounding communities.”
In October 2020, two gateways at the east and west ends of the slide memorial site were raised by the Timber Framers Guild, and Snohomish County staff installed a roof and assisted volunteers to install gabion walls under the structures.
Each gateway along the Whitehorse Trail has 43 butterfly-engraved stones that are positioned in an infinity symbol to “represent the everlasting impact of the landslide victims.”
In 2021, a memorial flagpole was re-raised at the site south of the highway with a new base structure. Solar lighting was also installed to provide long-term lighting for the flagpole.
Memorial design plan
Snohomish County worked with families, survivors and first responders to create the initial design for the project, and artists are being sought to further interpret the designs.
The Snohomish County Arts Commission sent a call out to artists last month to assist with two elements of the project: The Memorial Beacon and 26 panels to honor individual people and family groups killed in the landslide.
“The design is based on the idea that visitors to an educationally and emotionally intense place will move through stages of Arrival, Decompression, Reception, Orientation, Interpretation and Transition/Transformation,” according to the project page on the county’s website.
The east section of the memorial will be dedicated to individuals who were lost in the landslide. The 26 metal panels will be placed along a series of trails with space to reflect and leave mementos to remember those lost. Family members will be grouped onto one panel, which is why there will be 26 panels instead of 43 memorial panels.
To the west, a section of the memorial will have a community gathering area with a shelter. The center of the memorial will include a geologic area, first responder area and a survivors’ shelter.
The memorial site will have at least 19 parking spaces for cars and trucks, a space for bus parking, a horse hitch rail and bike racks.
Construction and funding
Construction of the permanent memorial is expected to begin in 2022 and be implemented in phases.
According to the county, construction of phase 1 is expected to begin as soon as summer 2022. Phase two construction is anticipated to begin in the spring or summer of 2023. The county said the goal is to complete the project before the 10-year remembrance ceremony in 2024.
The estimated cost of the memorial is $5 million. Snohomish County allocated funding to complete construction of the project after years of fundraising efforts to pay for a permanent memorial.
Anyone interested in donating materials, services or funds can do so by visiting the project’s website.