FOLLOWUP: Slide cleanup continues in Fauntleroy; city ‘green tags’ 1 house for limited access

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11:58 AM: Work continues today in the Fauntleroy neighborhood hit by a slide late Thursday night, which crews at the scene said had resulted from a water break, a 2-inch-line break that Seattle Public Utilities was still investigating when last we checked. Meantime, they’re the lead agency on the cleanup; the view above is looking east at the dead end of SW Cambridge, toward California SW (this vicinity).

Among the city departments with which we checked for our Friday followup was the Department of Construction and Inspections. They had sent inspectors to the area to check on houses by the slide, but the results weren’t in until this morning. Spokesperson Wendy Shark says they checked two houses; one in the 4300 block of SW Cambridge was found to have some structural damage, according to the “green tag” city posted to advise “limited access,” while the other, in the 9300 block of California SW, had “no structural damage found.” The specific condition placed on the Cambridge house is “entry limited in garage until slide has been removed.”

ADDED 2:43 PM: We have a cleanup update from SPU’s Andy Ryan: “SPU crews are currently vactoring excess mud from around people’s homes. A contractor is stabilizing the slide area. This should be done by end of the day tomorrow. The length and scope of full cleanup area is still unknown.” Asked about the latest on the investigation, he also says, “The cause of the slide is not known at this time, and may never be known. We know that when the slide was over, there was a broken main. We just don’t know which came first — slide or break.” What does someone with property damage do? “People who have had property damage should contact our Claims Office. … Visit our Claims website, http://www.seattle.gov/filing-a-damage-claim, or call our claims advisor Allison Micheli directly, 206-684-3124.”

4 Replies to "FOLLOWUP: Slide cleanup continues in Fauntleroy; city 'green tags' 1 house for limited access"

  • John January 23, 2017 (12:46 pm)

    I will guarantee you that Seattle Public Utilities will say the heavy rains caused the landslide…thus pulling the 2-inch watermain with it…causing the break to occur.  For SPU to say they know their 2-inch watermain caused the landslide is saying they will cover all cost occurred in the repair.  It never works that way.  SPU will fight this and make sure the slide caused the break in the pipe.

    I’ve seen this happen on previous watermain breaks. 

    • WSB January 23, 2017 (2:30 pm)

      No, actually, they aren’t saying that. Adding an update from them above.

  • Kelli January 24, 2017 (9:40 am)

    There is truly no way to know what caused the slide.  It could have been the 3″ of rain in 72 hours after days and days of frozen ground or it could have been the water main.  SPU has stated that to all who have inquired.  So, for you to claim that SPU will automatically blame the slide is not only wrong, but unnecessarily inflammatory and constitutes false news.  Please stop.

    • WSB January 24, 2017 (10:26 am)

      Hi, no false news here. We have directly quoted SPU above, and we have that quote in writing, from e-mail yesterday. – TR

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