Recovering

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, WASHINGTON - March 22nd, 2015, marked the one year anniversary of a disaster that struck at 10:37 on a Saturday morning when a hillside on the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River in Snohomish County, about 75 miles northeast of Seattle, suddenly and without warning collapsed. Traveling at 40 miles an hour, in a matter of seconds some 18 million tons of mud and debris swept across the River, burying 49 homes in the Steelhead Drive community, an unincorporated, quarter-square mile area just outside of Oso, Washington. Forty-three residents lost their lives.

HUD had just one "asset" in Oso before the mudslide, a foreclosed single-family home with a blue tarp covering the roof. All that remained following the catastrophic mudslide was a pile of debris and a graveyard of human remains. State Highway 530, the major transportation corridor, was obliterated by the slide. Rebuilding the road was critical and the Washington State Department of Transportation contacted me seeking an easement through the HUD property. I immediately put DOT in contact with Tom Rose, Santa Ana HOC Director. Tom wanted to convey the property to the State but the easement was the most expedient means to proceed quickly. It ultimately would take 70 days to clear, rebuild, and re-open the road.

A few weeks ago, I received another phone call. This one was from the County. It seemed the contractor who manages the HUD-owned parcels in the County had posted a for-sale sign on the property, unbeknown to the Seattle Regional Office or the HOC. The County had enacted a no-build zone in the area and was working to acquire parcels to provide relief to property owners and preserve the land as open space and a memorial. Human remains were found on the property making it hallowed ground for many.

The for-sale sign alarmed survivors. I contacted Tom Rose once again and the HUD property was removed from the auction and the sign came down within hours. Though a reminder of the rawness of the pain still present a year later, no long term damage was done in our relationship with the community. Thankfully, county officials were quick to come to HUD's defense likely because of our office's active involvement from the onset on a County-led multi-agency taskforce. In addition, HUD's office of Community Planning and Development - and, in particular, Stan Gimont in HQ, Jack Peters and Maggie Keller of the Seattle Regional office - provided $1.5 million dollars of CDBG funds to assist with property buyout efforts.

Tom Rose and I recently drove to Oso and toured the site with County officials. Even now, you are left speechless by the sheer scale of the disaster. We assured the County we will find a way to support their plans to keep the property in public ownership to help serve as a lasting memory of so many lives so quickly cut short one morning a year ago.

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