Report: Rattlesnake Ridge landslide could last years

YAKIMA – A report says nearly 4 million cubic yards of rock and dirt could continue slowly down Rattlesnake Ridge for years and is unlikely to become a damaging landslide.

The Yakima Herald-Republic says a report completed by Seattle-based consulting company Wyllie & Norrish Rock Engineers says it’s improbable rockfall would reach Interstate 82 and “very improbable” it would reach the Yakima River.

The report says the landslide is both “predictable and manageable.”

Authors of the report say there is an 85 percent chance the slide will move slowly as it starts to fall.

The report says at a speed ranging from less than 1 inch per day to 1.4 feet per week, there will be little threat to surrounding roads and buildings.