Tuesday marks 8 years since 43 killed in Oso landslide

OSO, Wash. — Tuesday marks eight years since the Oso landslide was triggered in Snohomish County.

At 10:37 a.m. on March 22, 2014, the once forested hillside above Oso collapsed without warning in a massive landslide, destroying the Steelhead neighborhood and killing 43 people.

Dozens of homes were wiped out when mud, rocks, trees and debris roared down a hillside above the north fork of the Stillaguamish River.

Community members gathered at the site to remember the victims at 10 a.m.

The outdoor event included a reading of the victims’ names, a bagpipe performance of “Amazing Grace” and a moment of silence. Find a full list of events with times on the Oso Slide Memorial Facebook page.

Snohomish County officials say they plan to complete construction on a permanent memorial on Highway 530 by 2024.

After years of fundraising, the memorial got full funding from the Snohomish County Council last fall, which included $4.8 million.

Since 2014, a tribute has been going up in pieces. That fall, 43 trees were planted, one for each victim. Later, a row of bronze mailboxes was installed to represent the Steelhead Haven neighborhood destroyed by a wall of mud.

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Plans for a larger memorial have been in the works for years.

Construction is to begin this summer, Carol Ohlfs, principal park planner with Snohomish County Parks & Recreation and project manager for the memorial, told the Daily Herald.

When complete, the memorial will honor the victims, survivors and first responders of the mudslide — one of the deadliest in U.S. history.

The memorial will go up in phases, Ohlfs said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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