Snohomish County explores buying Oso mudslide properties

OSO — People who own land damaged by the March 22 mudslide started receiving letters last week from Snohomish County gauging their interest in buyouts.

The approximately 80 letters the county mailed last week include no formal offer but ask owners whether they would be willing to sell. The letters are intended to help with applications for federal grants, said Gary Haakenson, the county manager tasked with overseeing post-mudslide recovery.

“We have sent them out to people who were impacted by the slide, people who were impacted by flooding and (people) who we suspect may be impacted by future flooding,” Haakenson said.

The mudslide sent debris over a square-mile area, killing 43 people and leveling about 40 homes. The slide blocked the North Fork Stillaguamish River, flooding property to the east and altering who’s in danger from future floods.

The county wants to gauge interest in buyouts as part of the application process for hazard grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The program is open to state, local and tribal governments after a major disaster declaration.

At this point, the county hasn’t said how much it would be prepared to pay. If FEMA dollars materialize, the county would set aside acquired properties as open space, Haakenson said.

The county promises it won’t use eminent domain if people are unwilling to sell.

“It doesn’t commit anybody to anything,” Haakenson said. “It allows us to go to FEMA and say, ‘This is the level of participation we would expect.’ In other words, if you don’t want to participate, we’re not going to take it away from you.”

For anyone who opts not to sell, it’s unclear what future use they might get from their property.

The County Council has discussed more restrictive land-use regulations near landslide danger zones. A hearing is scheduled at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in council chambers.

Separately, county officials have initiated conversations about a permanent memorial at the site.

“First and foremost, this starts with the family members who have lost people, who have lost loved ones,” county parks director Tom Teigen said. “It’s going to be a long-term process. This is definitely going to take a significant amount of time and it’s going to go at the pace that they dictate.”

County parks officials are looking to other communities that have undertaken public memorials after large-scale tragedies. They include a memorial to the 1999 mass shootings at Colorado’s Columbine High School, and one in Rapid City, South Dakota, where a park honors 238 people who died in a 1972 flood.

The state Department of Transportation has moved ahead with plans to rebuild Highway 530 by the end of October. State and county officials hosted community meetings about the work this week in Darrington and Arlington. Another meeting is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Oso Community Chapel, 22318 Highway 530.

Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Alex Hanson looks over sections of the Herald and sets the ink on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Black Press, publisher of Everett’s Daily Herald, is sold

The new owners include two Canadian private investment firms and a media company based in the southern United States.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.