HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2019-4623

HR 4623

ByRepresentatives Eslick, Sutherland, Robinson, Sells, Appleton, Jinkins, Fitzgibbon, Paul, Peterson, Stanford, Santos, Smith, Griffey, Klippert, Kraft, Schmick, Ybarra, Walsh, Caldier, Jenkin, Fey, Volz, Harris, MacEwen, DeBolt, Dent, Orwall, Lovick, Senn, Wylie, Chambers, Van Werven, Graham, Reeves, Morgan, Thai, Callan, Slatter, Entenman, and Dolan

WHEREAS, The Washington state House of Representatives remembers and honors the five-year anniversary of the deadly landslide in Oso, Washington, on March 22, 2014; and

WHEREAS, The town of Oso and the surrounding community demonstrated extraordinary valiance and resiliency in the wake of tragedy when the deadliest landslide in United States history hit their community; and

WHEREAS, The destructive landslide hit the community of Steelhead Haven, taking the lives of forty-three, including fifteen active or retired veterans and seven children, and gravely injured four; and

WHEREAS, The names of the forty-three lives lost are: Alan Bejvl, Delaney Webb, Marcy Satterlee, Thom Satterlee, Shelley Bellomo, Jerry Logan, Julie Farnes, Adam Farnes, Gloria Halstead, Jerry Halstead, Steve Harris, Theresa Harris, Christina Jefferds, Sanoah Huestis, Larry Miller, Sandy Miller, John Regelbrugge III, Kris Regelbrugge, Katie Ruthven, Shane Ruthven, Wyatt Ruthven, Hunter Ruthven, JuDee Vandenburg, Lou Vandenburg, Billy Spillers, Kaylee Spillers, Brooke Spillers, Jovon Mangual, Ron deQuilettes, Tom Durnell, Bonnie Gullikson, Mark Gustafson, Steve Hadaway, Denver Harris, Amanda Lennick, Linda McPherson, Joseph Miller, Stephen Neal, Michael Pearson, Summer Raffo, Lon Slauson, Brandy Ward, and William Welsh; and

WHEREAS, The force of the landslide deposited debris up to seventy-five feet deep over an area of approximately one square mile and caused lasting changes to the path of the North Fork Stillaguamish river; and

WHEREAS, The immediate impacts of the slide were devastatingly overwhelming, yet more than one hundred first responders from Snohomish and Skagit counties worked alongside the Oso neighbors to pull eight people from the debris, with seven surviving the event; and

WHEREAS, In the days following, eight hundred more responders from local, state, federal, and tribal responders joined the citizens of Oso, Darrington, Arlington, and the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe to work through cold, rain, and quicksand-like mud for one hundred twenty-three days to aid in the recovery of all forty-three bodies so that each family could have peace; and

WHEREAS, The town of Oso and the greater Stillaguamish river valley community is grateful to the first responders who sacrificed their own personal safety and time to search for survivors; and

WHEREAS, The Oso community persevered through heartache and disaster in the months that followed, giving birth to the phrase "Oso Strong," a feeling, belief, and reminder that remains present along the stretch of Highway 530 running through town; and

WHEREAS, The Washington state transportation commission renamed this twenty-three mile stretch of road the "Oso Slide Memorial Highway"; and

WHEREAS, The unwavering acts of all the responders were recognized in 2015, when the governor awarded the Washington medal of valor to the four communities of Oso, Arlington, Darrington, and the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe, and these communities continue to be recognized today by the families of the victims and survivors;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the memory of the lives lost, the families of the lost victims, the survivors of the Oso Slide, and the community response, and commend the steadfast spirit of the responders who helped the community recover.