‘Pure devastation’ of OR 229 landslide displaces residents as officials assess damage

PORTLAND, ore. (KOIN) — A community is in recovery mode after a massive landslide displaced residents and affected many homes Friday morning.

The landslide occurred on OR 229, near milepost 14, midway between the cities of Siletz and Kernville.

“A huge chunk of that mountain is gone,” said Mindy McCartt, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Transportation. “It’s probably one of the biggest slides ODOT has ever seen in our history.”

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McCartt told KOIN 6 News on Saturday that the road is still closed and the cleanup process has not yet begun. But transportation officials will meet Monday to create a plan moving forward.

There’s still no definitive estimate on when the road will reopen, but officials said Friday it could take months or even longer.

Debris, including trees and structures toppled by the landslide, fell into the Siletz River. A neighbor downstream told KOIN 6 News Friday night that he witnessed everything from refrigerators to propane tanks floating in the river.

“It’s complete devastation,” said Jenny Nelson, who lives in Lincoln County. “I think it’s going to be a very long road to recovery there.”

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Two people have since received temporary shelter from the Red Cross. In total, five homes were affected and three were substantially damaged. All residents of the houses were evacuated safely.

Authorities say no one was injured and everyone was accounted for.

Geologist says landslide was preventable

Scott Burns, a professor of geology at Portland State University, told KOIN 6 News that this landslide was preventable and the cost to the state was high.

“Our highway department has graded all the hillsides in Oregon, and those are the highest priority,” he said. “When the money is available, they spend their money on the highest priority roads they have. This is a high priority road. But it wasn’t at the top of the list, so it didn’t get any attention. It’s a road that isn’t heavily traveled. So it’s a little bit of a lower priority.”

Burns suggested that in order to prevent these landslides, the highway should be surrounded by a wall and trees should be planted in the cut areas. He added that the area surrounding the landslide is fragile and will continue to disintegrate.

Burns said periods of heavy rain, such as the atmospheric river experienced in the Pacific Northwest, often lead to more landslides.

“If you live on the beach, you’re going to encounter landslides,” Burns said. “Western Oregon, Western Washington, when we get these atmospheric rivers, all the highway departments, all the Geology department, all the organizations know that this is a time when landslides are going to occur.”

ODOT said the landslide occurred on land owned by Weyerhaeuser Company. On Friday, the company said in a statement to KOIN 6 News that they were working with ODOT and local law enforcement to safely evacuate their employees and assess the damage.

Transportation officials said OR 229 should be avoided and travel via US 101 instead.

ODOT has TripCheck more information About road closures and existing routes.

KOIN 6 reached out to the local school district to find out if bus routes will change or if alternative education will be available for students disrupted by landslides. This story will be updated if we receive feedback.

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