Lanslide forces emergency declaration in Yakima County

NACHES, Wash. - Gov. Chris Gregoire has proclaimed an emergency in Yakima County, where a landslide has damaged SR 410 west of Naches.

The emergency proclamation speeds up resources to assist recovery efforts. It will allow WSDOT to pursue federal emergency relief funds.

"The roadway damage affects the safety of those living within the area. Local residents must now travel two hours on a forest road to reach basic services or employment in the Yakima area," said Gregoire. "I applaud the efforts of emergency crews and local residents who have shown great resolve these past few days."

The massive landslide has completely destroyed more than a mile of Highway 410 and blocked the Naches River, backing up water and flooding homes and pastures.

The state Department of Transportation is encouraging people who need to get to the Nile Valley area along the Naches River to call a new hotline area for closure information. That number is 509-577-1635.

Today only four miles of Highway 410 are closed, versus 37 miles yesterday.

On the east end that closure starts at milepost 108 at the Woodshed Restaurant. On the west the closure point is at milepost 104. Only local residents are being allowed into that area.

Meanwhile, temporary construction work has started to open a new temporary Highway 410 on the south side of the river, away from the slide.

Contractors are in there today putting in new culverts and putting in crushed rock to give people something to drive on and divert the water that was pushed out of the Naches River.

This will also give people who live in some 600 homes and businesses on the far side of the slide access to Yakima and allow public safety to get through.

This is now a three-stage process, says Mike Westbay, a spokesperson for WSDOT. The first step is that temporary fix, the second step is an intermediate paved road for through traffic and the third step is a permanent solution to restoring Highway 410, that could potentially could involve building a new highway over the top or over the slide once it's considered stabilized.

"The river is a big obstacle," Westbay said.

Right now the water is being diverted and is going through people's property, flooding some homes, but there's so much volume of material in the river it may not be moveable.

The water is at its lowest point in the year. Once spring runoff comes next year,  that could be a problem.

The state Department of Natural Resources now says the slide area covers 80 acres.