OSO — It’s too soon to build a memorial.
For the last year, that’s been the consensus of families who lost loved ones in the Oso mudslide.
Snohomish County staff are working with relatives of the 43 people who died on March 22, 2014, to determine if, when and where a memorial eventually could be built. The type, size and design also are up in the air.
Early on, officials promised to give families time to grieve before considering a memorial. Now most are prepared to talk, some have clear ideas and a few aren’t yet ready to think about it, project lead Tom Teigen said.
“We’re not going to get 100 percent agreement on anything with the site,” said Tiegen, the county’s parks director. “People grieve in different ways.”
The county has moved to buy property in the slide zone, near where Steelhead Drive branched off Highway 530.
The Snohomish County Council earlier this month approved buying 13.4 acres for $131,700, including closing costs. The landowner has agreed to sell the property, according to county documents. It’s just north of a memorial grove of cedars planted in September when the new stretch of highway was finished.
No bodies were found on that land, Teigen said. Families made it clear they didn’t want a public venue where their loved ones had been found.
“All of us consider the entire site sacred ground,” Teigen said.
The acreage could be used for a memorial and a safe parking area, according to a staff report. People try to pull over on the side of the 50 mph highway or even stop in the road to look at the gash in the hillside.
At this point, though, the county isn’t doing anything other than buying the land, longterm recovery lead Heather Kelly said.
“The purchase of the parcels out there is for a potential, in the future, maybe, if-needed (project),” she said. “Whether it’s a year from now or five years from now, the families can have options.”
People have urged officials to make sure the loss of lives and homes isn’t trivialized or commercialized, Teigen said.
Survivors offered insightful comments in times of grief and pain. They reminded planners to go slowly and approach memorial discussions with respect.
Families and county staff last met in October, Kelly said. The group agreed to wait until at least April to resume planning.
“We’re starting with the families that lost lives and then the families that lost homes and properties,” she said. “We’re not doing anything quickly. We’re being very purposeful about this.”
Officials say they expect most parcels in the slide area to be bought out by the federal government, though those decisions still are pending. The buyout program prohibits any future development, including a possible memorial. That’s why the county sought to buy acreage now from the James Richard Larsen and Shirley Ann Larsen Living Trust.* The land is being paid for with money from the Conservation Futures program.
Families have suggested the memorial be something natural that fits with the scenery of the area, Kelly said. They want something that echoes the beauty that drew their loved ones to Oso. The over arching idea is to let nature reclaim the area. There’s been talk of gardens and benches, Teigen said.
A number of nonprofits have reached out to offer help with funding, managing and maintaining a memorial when the time comes, Teigen said. Nonprofit and public involvement will come after families have made their decisions.
“Some of our family members are OK one day, and then they need a few days,” Kelly said. “It will take time.”
Until then, the grove of 43 cedars serves as a place to mourn and remember.
The families were the first people to visit the cluster of saplings, planted six months ago just east of Steelhead Drive. They tied ribbons to the branches and hung signs with the names of their loved ones.
The trees are young still. They stood six feet tall when they were planted. Landscapers picked them for the area because they’re a resilient, hardy species. Cedars grow well in the cool, wet soil.
Like the people of the valley, they can overcome the mud.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439, kbray@heraldnet.com
Correction, March 23, 2015: Snohomish County purchased property from the James Richard Larsen and Shirley Ann Larsen Living Trust for a future Oso mudslide memorial. An earlier version of this story did not include the full name of the trust.
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