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.
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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