Washington Wildfire Maps, Update 2014: Rain in Affected Area Leads to Mudslides; No Injuries Reported
Wildfires in Washington state are continuing to cause problems, even after the flames have been extinguished.
Land that has been scorched bare by the fires was left exposed to heavy rains this week, which washed away hillsides and damaged homes and highways, according to a report from AP.
No injuries were reported from the mudslides on Thursday night, but reports were few and far between because phone and radio towers had previously been knocked out by wildfires.
More storms are expected on Friday following multiple mudslides on Thursday. The mudslides on Thursday stranded drivers on two state highways. Highway patrol was working overtime to reach those people.
Conditions were so bad in some places that a house was pushed off its foundation and a car was forced into a creek. On Highway 153, the debris was 5-feet deep and 145-feet wide, The Wentachee World reported.
Wildfires in the same vicinity -- near Carlton, Washington -- burned a swath more than 400 square miles earlier this summer and firefighters were still dealing with the effects of that fire.
"This flooding is in the areas that were burned," said Jeff Adamson, Washington Department of Transportation spokesman. "It brings down rocks, mud and water. f you've got an unstable slope, you just have to pull the crew and wait until tomorrow."
The slides began after about an inch of rain fell in an hour, and close to the same amount is expected on Friday. Another natural disaster coming so soon after the fires were extinguished has locals feeling beaten.
"It's like another nail in the coffin," Carlton General Store owner Jeff Lyman said. "It's pretty bad down here right now."
Maggie Garrett, who lives on Benson Creek and watched the mudslides as they happened, said the debris dug deep ditches through driveways and backyards, and also knocked down fencing in the area.
"It was literally like a river running through here," she said. "And now, everything's 6 inches under mud."
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