Obama will visit Oso mudslide area

OLYMPIA – President Obama will make a stop in Washington later this month to visit parts of Snohomish County devastated by the March 22 mudslide.

Obama will visit on April 22 to get a first-hand look at the devastation and the communities’ reaction in Oso, Arlington and Darrington, the White House announced Tuesday. He plans to meet with families, first responders and recovery workers.

The president has monitored events in the slide area since it occurred, Gov. Jay Inslee said after the visit was announced.

“He and his team have been important partners in the response effort and I believe this visit will strengthen those ties as we face the tough work ahead,” Inslee said.

The slide sent a square mile of mud and debris down a hillside above the Stillaguamish River, burying a section of state Route 530 and wiping out much of the town of Oso.

It left 33 confirmed dead. Eleven others were listed as missing Tuesday, while rescue and recovery teams continued to search the debris-strewn disaster site.

Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said they planned to join Obama, and called the visit an important step in demonstrating the federal government’s commitment to the area’s recovery.