Slow-moving landslide near site of 2014 slide shuts road

OSO, Wash. – Authorities in Washington state say a road has been closed and some evacuations were recommended near a slow-moving landslide close to the site of a massive deadly slide northeast of Seattle in 2014.

Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Shari Ireton said Friday that people who noticed cracks on a road near Oso this week called officials.

She says a state geologist who went to the area about 1.5 miles west of the 2014 slide found several sites where significant cracks in the slope indicated movement.

Geologists are calling it a “reactivation of small portion of a previous landslide,” Ireton said in a news release.

The March 2014 mudslide killed 43 people.

Ireton says a one-mile stretch of a state highway has been closed as a precaution until at least Saturday when geologists can continue inspecting the area.

Specifically, occupants of 11 homes have been asked to evacuate. Other area residents are being updated on developments through the night.

Ireton said there had been no injuries or property damage.