THE LAND THAT WALKS
Just five years after the ground fell out from under the town of Darrington, Washington, the community is making tremendous strides in the process of recovery from the most fatal landslide in U.S. history.
Story by Emily Hill | Photos by Rachel Alexander
It’s a crisp day in late October, 2019 and Highway 530 is quiet and cold. A layer of frost covers the grass while cars zoom by. Rolling hills surround a large field which was once covered in sediment and debris. A gravel path leads to a cluster of cedar trees aligned in three rows. Each tree is dedicated to an individual whose life was lost the day of the Oso landslide. The land is still raw with heartache.
On March 22nd, 2014, in the small community of Darrington, Washington, a monumental landslide released 16 million metric tons of debris, killing 43 individuals, destroying two Sauk-Suiattle and Stillaguamish tribe cemeteries, and demolishing an entire neighborhood. The Oso mudslide is still known as the most deadly landslide in United States history. Five years have passed since that dreadful day and the town is still healing. Moving forward from a disaster is not an easy task and it takes devoted leaders to drive the recovery process forward.
The area is known to have a history of landslides, but nothing of this magnitude. Even some of the local Sauk-Suiattle tribal members call it “the land that walks”.
“It was something that you would never imagine” said Darrington Mayor Dan Rankin, who was with emergency personnel the day of the slide. “We all try to believe that this isn’t going to happen to me. I’m never going to get cancer. I’m not going to have a heart attack. I’m going to live to be a hundred. I’m not going to get in a car wreck. We all believe that those things happen to other people.”
After the mudslide reached its furthest point and the land quieted, the town of Darrington found itself practically isolated from the rest of civilization. A section of debris more than a kilometer wide shut down a portion of highway 530. Phone and internet services were disconnected while the fates of those trapped lay in the hands of the first responders.
“When they showed up down there, the initial responders, all they could see was a bunch of destruction and no more road, so they didn’t even quite understand the scope of what was going on,” said Darrington’s Deputy Fire Chief Drew Bono.
At the time of the slide Bono was not on the scene; he and a few of his colleagues were on Camano Island for a training academy. As soon as he heard the call, they made their way back to Darrington. Even though he wasn’t at the site, Bono could hear everything going on that day through his radio. When he arrived in Darrington, he was given the task to facilitate communication between the community, swarm of police, firefighters, volunteers and other emergency responders who descended on the scene.
Now, what’s left of the Oso landslide site is an enormous gaping hole on the side of the mountain. Recovering after a disaster such as this is a monumental task. Bono gained unique insight into disaster management by volunteering with other communities experiencing devastation. After visiting a rural community reeling from disaster in the Florida panhandle, he noticed those in charge were at odds with one another.
“All the city administration could focus on is: ‘How are we going to replace the carpet in our city hall?” Bono said. “I didn’t quite understand how well [the Darrington] community did until I was able to go see how other places in the United States deal with their versions of the Oso mudslide.”
Landslides are not the only hazard the town takes into account. If the Glacier Peak volcano were to erupt, Darrington would be directly in the path of a lahar flow. For this reason, Rankin’s disaster work now centers on teaching youth about the Pacific Northwest and the environmental hazards that exist within it. Hence the creation of the Glacier Peak Institute just five months after the devastating effects of the landslide. The non-profit institute provides opportunities for youth and young adults in the Darrington area to explore the STEM sciences outside the confines of the classroom.
“Surprisingly enough, when you grow up in Darrington you probably don’t hike, bike, fish, hunt or anything because there really aren’t many connections to that,” said Skye Schillhammer, a local videographer.
Every school year, the Glacier Peak Institute offers its students the opportunity to study salmon in hatcheries, conduct regional bat research and conservation, and develop a waterfront plan for the Sauk River Park 30 minutes south of Darrington, among other activities.
“It’s really the only thing connecting kids in Darrington to the outdoors,” said Schillhammer.
To raise money for the institute, the Kulshan Brewing Company in Bellingham held a showing of the documentary “From Slide to Ride”, created by Schillhammer. The film centers on the brand-new North Mountain bike trails which opened on October 19th 2019 just south of Darrington. Local residents built the trails in the wake of the Oso disaster to encourage outdoor activity and hazard awareness. The room was cozy and faces lit up with joy as people filtered into the small space at the back of the brewery.
“Every time I see this short film I get choked up,” said Rankin.
This was the first time many people had seen the film. Community members from Darrington, Bellingham and everywhere in between were drawn together to remember that world-shattering day in a unique way.
One of the biggest takeaways from that day was that the Darrington community will not let anyone tell them something can’t be done, said Bono.
“I believe that the community has decided that this happened, we can’t dwell on it, we need to move forward.”
As the lights turned back on after the film, the room bubbled with energy. Many in attendance appeared excited about this new frontier for the Darrington community. A sense of loss remains even now, but it is accompanied by something much greater than that: hope.
