Video: Muddy mess on 47th SW south of Fauntleroy

(Scroll down for newest info/photo/video)

(Photo added 7:06 am – this is what’s covering the road)
6:02 AM: Checking on the chopper that seems to be hovering in the Lincoln Park area, not far from WSB HQ. It seems to be searching over the water and is sweeping to the south, too. 6:25 AM UPDATE: Apparently a TV chopper checking on a reported slide. 47th SW is closed south of the 10200 block (map) – our roving crew just spotted the sign.

6:55 AM UPDATE: The actual slide starts in the 10400 block (map). This is ~~at or~~ near a spot that had been reported to the city a week ago, according to e-mail we had exchanged at the time with area resident Tony: He had spotted signs of an impending slide on December 19th; two days later, he said, SDOT “came out … and cleaned the road and coned off half of the sliding road.” No sign of a city crew yet this morning, but sunrise isn’t till 8 am.

7:20 AM UPDATE: From another neighbor, Mary, in comments:

I live on 47th street just a few houses down. It seems that the slide was caused by a tree that fell; that tree broke a sprinkler system that was NOT turned off or winterized. The water came gushing out and caused the slide. The mud is about a foot deep and the street sewers are backed up and clogged by the mud. The other slide area mentioned by Tony is down a few houses and is a different section. The area is still closed off and we are all waiting for the City to do something so that folks can get to work.

8:07 AM UPDATE: Looks like cleanup help is on the way. Our crew is headed back now that it’s light – and just called in to say they’re “behind a backhoe.”

8:23 AM UPDATE: Adding a photo of backhoe in action – will have video shortly. SDOT crew at the scene tells us it’ll take an hour or so to clean up.

8:50 AM UPDATE: And there’s the video. Neighbors tell us this may have happened 2:30-3 am – they heard something loud about that time, and woke up to mud.

10:17 AM UPDATE: Just went back to check on the situation. Not clear yet, but crews are making progress. Along with equipment to scoop and move the mud, they also have a vacuum truck to clear the clogged drains mentioned above.

wsnative December 28, 2010 (6:08 am)

Turn on the news there is a mudslide on (I think they said) 49th above Marine View Drive

WSB December 28, 2010 (6:20 am)

We’re in that area looking.

wsnative December 28, 2010 (6:16 am)

My bad – it’s on 47th

WSB December 28, 2010 (6:24 am)

Yes, we’ve hit the “road closed” sign in the 10000 block of 47th.

AH December 28, 2010 (6:57 am)

oh, I was wondering about that when I left this morning. You are always on top of the local need-to-know-news. THANKS!!!

Mary December 28, 2010 (7:18 am)

I live on 47th street just a few houses down. It seems that the slide was caused by a tree that fell; that tree broke a sprinkler system that was NOT turned off or winterized. The water came gushing out and caused the slide. The mud is about a foot deep and the street sewers are backed up and clogged by the mud. The other slide area mentioned by Tony is down a few houses and is a different section. The area is still closed off and we are all waiting for the City to do something so that folks can get to work.

WSB December 28, 2010 (7:20 am)

Thanks, Mary! Too early for us to reach SDOT so firsthand info’s appreciated – we’ll be heading back for a better look after sunup. Hope cleanup crews arrive soon. – TR

betsy December 28, 2010 (7:38 am)

I live at Westbeach..and got to work easily.left about 6:35AM ..the slide is south of 102nd…

HelperMonkey December 28, 2010 (8:21 am)

here’s me yelling at KUOW this morning when they said “There is a mud slide in West Seattle on 47th”
cut to me yelling “What block? what block?!!!” (which of course they didn’t say) and knowing I could hop on the WSB and get the info in seconds. That was an example of what West Seattlites USED to have to deal with when it came to news on the peninsula. Thanks WSB! :D
.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

WSB December 28, 2010 (8:33 am)

Always happy to provide real-time neighborhood news with context. The loud TV chopper was our first alert, but from there, it’s all about context – like the fact this was the dead-end southern end of 47th, meaning that while it is certainly significant for the folks living south of there, it is not an incident that would inconvenience hundreds of drivers – but without a block number, many would wonder, since 47th (aside from taking a break for Lincoln Park) does stretch all the way to the North Admiral area.

velo_nut December 28, 2010 (9:29 am)

Darn chopper felt like it was landing on my house!

austin December 28, 2010 (4:56 pm)

Yeah that loud tv chopper was my first alert as well despite me being almost five miles to the north. The cats enjoyed an early breakfast as a result.

Genessee neighbor December 28, 2010 (5:08 pm)

So scary! Right next door to friends of ours who experienced a huge mud slide about 8 or 9 years ago and went through a lot of agony dealing with the city, insurance and $$$ building a cement retaining wall. Glad nobody was hurt.

Sorry, comment time is over.