Creeping landslide devouring part of Wyo. town
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — No one can say precisely when the mountainside collapsing into this Wyoming resort town will give way. But it appears increasingly likely that when it does, it’s going to take a piece of Jackson with it.
Workers and residents have watched helplessly in recent days as the slow-motion landslide spanning hundreds of yards split a house in two and inched ever closer to a cluster of businesses below.
Standing at the edge of the slide zone, its rocky slope rising sharply behind him, Jackson Fire Chief Willy Watsabaugh said the rate of movement slowed Saturday, giving crews a chance to get back in and re-assess the damage.
Yet the fate of the businesses, houses and apartment buildings in the slide zone remained in doubt. Experts brought in to assist the town say it’s unknown when the slide will come to a rest.
“We’re up against the Earth, and the Earth’s movement is an extremely powerful thing,” Watsabaugh said.
A sudden acceleration earlier in the week prompted authorities to suspend their efforts to shore up the slope as falling rocks created a hazard. The work that resumed Saturday was focused not on stopping the slide but repairing some of the damage it already has caused, such as a break in a sewer line on Friday.
What triggered the geologic event remains under investigation.
Authorities are looking into whether recent construction at the foot of East Gros Ventre Butte made the slope unstable. But they say there could be a variety of causes, including prior construction at the site, warmer weather and a wet winter that put more water into the ground, where it acts as a lubricant for unstable rocks and soil.
Town officials first noticed significant hill movement April 4. They evacuated 42 homes and apartment units April 9.
Because of its more stable geology, the slope is unlikely to suddenly collapse like the March 22 landslide in Oso, Wash., that killed 39 people, experts said. More likely, large blocks of earth would tumble down piece by piece.