Rattlesnake Ridge Slide Dropping 1.3 Feet Per Week

In case you have been living under a figurative rock lately, there is a major developing disaster story here in the Yakima area.

This is about as serious as it gets as some residents living in the direct path of impending destruction have no immediate plans to leave.

There is a Level 3 "Go" order for those folks refusing to leave.

The slide itself starts in the Columbia quarry and continues along a known fault line across the ridge and is disturbingly clear to see as the cracks get bigger and the gap from where the ground once stood is dropping ever so slowly. Authorities report the slide is moving at what is being measured at 1.3 feet per week, according to the Yakima Valley Office of Emergency Management.

Which puts a timeline up in the air for residents hoping it slides away from their homes. They have no idea how long they could be at the shelter.

The state's response has been to place rail cars full of concrete dividers along the outside lane of Thorp Road.

Information has been slow to come out to a growing anxious public.

Here is what authorities are saying Wednesday:

• I-82 is still open
• The residents on Thorp Road south of Columbia Quarry are under a Level 3 “Go” Evacuation notice
• A Red Cross shelter is open for the evacuated residents
• Thorp Road is closed
• The land is still slowly moving (about 1.3 feet per week) but no major rocks have come down off the hillside
• The Slide is not done moving

We will keep you posted with the latest information as we receive it.