Sky Road slide blocks county route; county crews working with state agencies to assess hazard

Skamania County public-works staff reported a series of landslides on Sky Road that blocked the roadway beginning late Friday and again into Saturday, prompting repeated clearings and a scheduled site assessment with state agencies.

"We moved [traffic cameras] to the slide area... that entire area that had the trees on it still came down, and that blocked the road Friday late evening and then into Saturday," David told commissioners, showing camera photos taken on Thursday afternoon and the subsequent area instability. David said crews responded quickly and worked overnight to reopen the road: "They worked until, like, 01:30 in the morning. Went home, got a call from the sheriff's office by 2 that it was blocked again... and spent most of the day there."

David said county staff will conduct a field visit with the Department of Ecology and Department of Natural Resources to examine how far the slide could progress and to determine mitigation options. "I have a meeting with department of ecology, department of natural resources, and then our staff tomorrow to go out to the site up top to look and see how can how far back that could go," he said.

The county said there was no immediate entrapment of residents and that emergency services are being notified through normal dispatch channels when closures occur. Officials noted that limited staffing in the road crew increases response pressure and that the crew has been managing the work with reduced personnel.

Next steps: County staff will report back on the interagency site visit and any recommended mitigation or closure plans.