Northbound Hwy 101 closed

Gail Wood, The Olympian

THURSTON COUNTY -- A landslide caused by Wednesday's earthquake left a 60-foot gash in U.S. Highway 101, closing northbound lanes between Olympia and Shelton.

Commuters heading to Shelton were forced to take a 30-mile detour through McCleary, turning the sleepy little town into a parking lot with backups stretching two and a half miles.

By late afternoon, 300 yards of dirt was being dumped in the median of U.S. 101 just past the Shelton turnoff from state Route 8, in hopes of creating a temporary one-lane passage. But northbound lanes still were closed at 11 p.m.

"We wouldn't open it if it wasn't safe," said Larry Deemer, a superintendent with the Washington Department of Transportation.

To ensure safety, a spotter was scheduled to be on guard all night.

Repairs to U.S. 101 are estimated to take a week.

"It's really hard telling how long it will be," said Dan Drewry, a county worker. "As soon as we pick this dirt up, more will probably slide down. It's really sloppy."

Shortly after the quake shook the western part of the state at 10:55 a.m., the entire hillside gave way, slipping over onto Madrona Beach Road and closing that road which runs parallel to 101. Residents along Madrona north of the landslide parked their cars and walked to their homes.

Haley Stevenson, a student at Tumwater High School, was hoping her mother, Kim Acuff, would be permitted to drive through.

"My mom just had my little brother Monday," Stevenson said. "She's just coming home from the hospital and doesn't feel much like walking."

The landslide that stretched 100 feet wide and 50 feet deep uprooted several 80-foot fir trees, knifing between two homes but not causing any structural damage. It did wipe out Britt Kauffman's water pump, leaving him without water.

"Our water is a little murky all of a sudden," Kauffman said.

Kauffman and three of his neighbors have been petitioning the county to get permission to connect to water service.

"This may be a godsend," Kauffman said. "The county has been uncooperative. Maybe now they'll be a little more cooperative."

Until then, Kauffman will get his water from his neighbor, Dave Gadway, who will stretch a hose from his yard to Kauffman's house.

"I think he'll be drinking from that hose longer than he thinks," Gadway said with a smile. "But he sees the silver lining to this."

One walker, Frank Medizabel's 87-year-old mother, saw the hillside slowly give way.

"She said it was very scary to watch," Kauffman said.

Workers agreed that the slide could have been worse if rainfall weren't 7 inches below average.

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