Residents near landslide stock up

YAKIMA – Residents in the area around a landslide in central Washington that wiped out portions of a highway are being told to stock up in case they become isolated for long periods.

That means families are stocking up on everything from flour and sugar to buckets, batteries, paper towels and dog food.

“Costco is going to love us,” Nile Valley resident Lisa Todnem said.

State officials have cautioned residents who live east of Chinook Pass and west of the slide area on Highway 410 that they could have upward of 30 to 45 days of isolation as fall weather and slide repairs cause more havoc for the area.

Two weeks ago, the massive landslide rerouted the Naches River, buried part of State Route 410 and forced some residents from their homes.

Folks who live here in the mountains and foothills of the Cascades are handling the warnings of isolation like they do most circumstances by banding together.

“We’re pretty self-reliant,” said Phyllis Parks, 74. “You have to be. That’s one thing about living up here. It makes you do for yourself and think for yourself.”

At the same time, “We all pull together if something like this happens,” she said. “You know your neighbors are going to help you.”

Those who remain in the area – about 350 to 400 households, according to Community Emergency Response Team coordinator Pam Brown – are preparing to hunker down for a month or longer, if need be.

When the snow comes, Nile Valley residents could be cut off from both sides. Nile Road, said Yakima County Commissioner Mike Leita, will wash out.

“There’s no way it’s going to stay there. Don’t think it is,” he told a crowd of about 175 people gathered at Nile Valley Community Church last week. “You still have to anticipate a closure. There are no guarantees here.”

Charles Adams lives on SR 410. His 12-year-old great-grandson, a fifth-grader, lives with him.

“I don’t know how he’d get to school if they did close the road,” Adams said.

Officials at the Naches Valley School District are developing a contingency plan for its 47 students who would be affected if Nile Road washes out and access is blocked.

District officials are considering a couple scenarios: What to do if access becomes blocked during a school day while students are in class, and what to do if access is cut while students are at home at night or over the weekend.

Permission slips allowing students to stay with friends or relatives on the other side of the slide will likely be sent home soon.

In addition to 47 students, there are two teachers, a teacher’s aide, a bus driver and a couple custodians who live west of the slide area and could be cut off from getting to school if Nile Road washes out.

Brown, the emergency response team coordinator, is ready. She’s lived in the Nile Valley since 1993. “I’m perpetually prepared,” she said.

“We know these things happen when you live in the mountains. It’s old hat.”