Inspection delayed at Schweitzer condos
SANDPOINT – Heavy rain and another small landslide prevented a structural engineer Saturday from inspecting the interior of the 24-unit Red Cricket condominium complex, partially buried Wednesday in a massive earth slide.
The engineer, Mark Aden, of DCI Engineers of Spokane, was hired to inspect the building by the attorney representing the condominium owners, said Schweitzer Fire District Chief Spencer Newton.
“Because of the heavy rain and the potential for more slides, it is still unsafe to enter the building,” the chief said. “The closest we got was a quick peek inside a side door.”
The structural engineer won’t be able to render his opinion about the future of the condominium until he completes the interior inspection, maybe next week, Newton said.
“We actually had one other small slide today, but only a small amount of material came down this time,” Newton said.
About 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, several hundred cubic feet of earth, mostly foundation excavation material from a building being constructed uphill from the Red Cricket, came thundering down the mountain.
The Red Cricket is a three-story complex, with single-car garages on the ground floor, covered by 12 first-floor living units on the second floor and that many more on the third floor. The entire complex was empty, so there were no injuries.
The fire chief, who has lived on the mountain for 14 years, said it’s his opinion that the slide wasn’t specifically caused by footing trenches being dug by the uphill developer, but where the excavated material was placed.
The excavated material was piled in a large mound that slid downhill, apparently after becoming unstable when a heavy snowpack quickly melted during last week’s record-breaking warm temperatures, Newton said.
The mudslide broke away about one-third of the “stem walls,” portions of the foundation on the uphill side of the Red Cricket, and blew through the garage level to the front of the complex, Newton said. The slide debris filled most of the garages but didn’t enter various living quarters. There apparently were no vehicles in any of the garages.
“It wasn’t knocked off its foundation,” the fire chief said of the rectangular building fronting Schweitzer Mountain Road. But there remains a question, he said, about the building’s structural integrity that will be answered only after inspections by experts.
A geotechnical engineer employed by the uphill developer inspected the site Friday, but his name wasn’t available from the fire chief.
Two other nearby condominium complexes, Snow Drift and Creekside, were briefly closed because of the possibility of other slides but were reopened Friday, the chief said.
The slide continues to block Schweitzer Mountain Road, the main access route to Schweitzer Village, but a detour route is open. The slide also continues to block Mogul Hill Road, located uphill from the Red Cricket.
That blockage on Mogul Hill Road is restricting access to several dozen other condominiums and homes, including residences of four families who live on the mountain full-time, Newton said.
A temporary single-lane “goat trail” detour was plowed open Saturday, allowing limited vehicle access to those families living beyond the slide on Mogul Hill Road, the chief said.