EVERETT – A sinking excavator that became stuck in the mud this week while trying to free another excavator was pulled from the jellylike earth Thursday afternoon.
Kerry Ford, owner of Ford Crane Inc. of Snohomish, used a heavy-duty crane with tank treads to pull out the excavator from an Ebey Island peat bog.
Ford said he will attempt today to pluck out the second excavator from the thick mud with his crane, which is capable of lifting 50 tons.
The highly visible scene north of the U.S. 2 trestle drew a handful of onlookers, including farmers and a heavy equipment operator, who stopped by after work to see what he’s been hearing people talk about all week.
“That’s about second to my worst nightmare,” said Shane Baer, standing on a muddy hill near the 2006 John Deere 200 rental. “I’ve gotten myself into some muddy situations, but never like this.”
Replacing the half-buried machine could cost between $160,000 and $200,000.
Baer, who makes his living on construction sites in a comparable excavator, said flipping one of the 22-ton machines is the only worse blunder he can imagine.
A mud-caked Jeff Emery of Pacific Reign took a cigarette break in the shade after a leaking hydraulic hose on his excavator brought work to a standstill.
He traveled with a small crew from Grays Harbor to Ebey Island late last week, after buying salvaging rights to the first stuck excavator for $38,000 – which he says at first appeared to be a good deal.
He’s not so sure about that now.
“I’m out here sunbathing,” he said, spread out on the wide treads of the crane, his head resting on a large water bottle.
Operating heavy equipment on Ebey Island, where the water table is high, can be extremely difficult, he learned.
Ford, 46, knows the tricky terrain of the island. It’s where his grandparents settled from Oklahoma more than six decades ago, and where he and his father found work on bridges at various times.
He said taking the job was a “calculated risk,” but he is confident that he can pull the second excavator today without incident.
“How do you know if you don’t try?” he said.
Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.
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