'Heightened Risk' Of Landslide Near Oso Will Keep SR 530 Closed: WSDOT

OSO, WA - An "unstable slope" will keep SR 530 near Oso closed until at least Thursday, the Washington state Department of Transportation announced on Monday. The closure affects a portion of the highway about 1-1/2 miles southwest of where the deadly 2014 Oso slide occurred. Although the new situation is contained, pieces of hillside have begun to break away, cracking roads on slopes near SR 530.

"If the entire 24 acre slide were to give way, it could completely cover highway 530 and potentially reach Whitman Road," Assistant Regional Administrator Dave McCormick said on Monday. "We know this is huge disruption to the lives of those who live and work in the Stillaguamish River Valley, but there's still a heightened risk that this slide could still move."

The unstable hillside has closed a portion of SR 530 between Oso Loop Road and C-Post Road - about a four-mile stretch. The road has been closed since Friday, although transportation officials have been aware of the situation since April 3. About a dozen homeowners in the area have been given voluntary evacuation notices.

The deadly Oso mudslide happened on March 22, 2014. Forty-three people died, and the amount of debris covered an area nearly one-mile wide.

Image via WSDOT