State plugs away at mapping landslide-prone areas

OSO — Nearly five years after a massive mudslide swept across the Stillaguamish Valley, claiming dozens of lives, state geologists still are trying to get a better grasp of the area’s natural hazards.

Mapping and analysis have been ongoing and will be for years to come. It’s an effort not only in Snohomish County but for the entire upper half of Washington, where glaciers carved out similar landscapes.

“There are a lot of questions that need to be answered,” state geologist Dave Norman said. “Why did it move so far? Why did it run out so quickly?”

The Department of Natural Resources has requested $1.4 million to study the Highway 530 corridor over the next two years and $1.1 million for the two years after that. The money would pay for two geologists to research, map and monitor the 50-square-mile corridor around the site of the Oso, according to the DNR’s budget request. The research would help scientists figure out how to go about studying landslide risks across 18 counties in northern Washington with similar glacial geology.

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