Landslide destroys outbuilding in Spokane Valley

A landslide took out at least one outbuilding Thursday afternoon in Spokane Valley, and the basement of a nearby home is full of water, according to the Spokane Valley Fire Department.

The slide in the 12700 block of East Sanson Lane was reported at 2:20 p.m. Thursday. The slide is within 10 feet of the home with the flooded root cellar, said fire department spokeswoman Melanie Rose.

“It’s slow moving,” she said. “It seems like it’s stabilizing.”

A family of five lives in the home, several of whom were home Thursday afternoon. “They heard this loud boom, and then the slide happened,” Rose said.

The family had been dealing with an underground stream the last few days and had dug trenches to divert the water around their home. The landslide took out the trenches, Rose said.

“I couldn’t see it, but I could hear it,” she said. “It’s like a creek. It’s flowing directly inside the house.”

The Red Cross is assisting the family. Only one other home is further up the dead-end road and it is not threatened, Rose said.

Spokane County employees are expected to be at the site Friday morning to evaluate the slide, Rose said.