(The Associated Press circulated the following article on January 17.)
TACOMA, Wash. — A mudslide halted passenger Amtrak train service from Seattle to Portland on Monday, amid a steady rain that has kept most of Western Washington water-logged for the past several weeks.
The slide occurred around 1 p.m. about 18 miles south of Tacoma, said Gus Melonas, spokesman for Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad, which owns the tracks.
Amtrak was arranging bus service to transport passengers who were already en route to Seattle and Portland on Monday, and Tuesday’s trains were canceled, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said.
A 48-hour precautionary closure of Amtrak service would remain in effect until 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Freight service resumed after railroad crews cleared the slide, which measured 3 feet deep and 40 feet long, covering two sets of tracks, Melonas said.
It took crews about a half hour to clear one set of tracks and an hour and a half to clear the other, Melonas said.
North of Seattle, a mudslide shut down passenger rail service between Seattle and Everett on Saturday — for the third time in just over a week. The tracks were cleared for freight trains early Sunday, and Melonas said the typical 48-hour precautionary passenger train closure would expire Monday evening.
After 27 straight days of rain, Seattle city was closing in on a record set in 1953, when it rained for 33 consecutive days. But the rain dried up on Sunday, resetting the record clock just in time for it to start raining again on Monday.
To the south, Olympia’s rainy day streak reached 30 days Monday, three short of the state capital’s record, also set in 1953.
Officials were concerned that the next round of storms could renew flooding, which eased over the weekend. Last Friday, Gov. Christine Gregoire declared a state of emergency in 12 counties. Flood and other rain-related damage is estimated at more than $7.3 million statewide, the governor said.
The National Weather Service warned that heavy snowfall was expected in Washington’s central and northern Cascade mountains until noon Tuesday.