SEATTLE – As we track another onslaught of rain now arriving into the western Washington region, the local landslide threat is skyrocketing.
Steep coastal bluffs, other steep hillsides or road cuts and recently-burned wildfire areas across the state are at highest risk. After receiving more than a foot of rain last week over the mountains and between 2–6 inches early this week, the already soaked ground will become more fragile.
“What a wildfire does is it can change the soil to be more erodible and cause excess runoff. They could see excess runoff this winter and as tree roots decay over the coming years, we could see larger events,” said Kate Mickelson, Landslide Hazards Program Manager with the Department of Natural Resources.…