Governor and Mrs. Inslee with Maggie Cogswell, Ben Helle, and Assistant Secretary of State Ken Raske

State employees from 15 state agencies, including staff of the Washington State Archives, were recognized for their work following the devastating Oso mudslide on March 22. Alongside volunteers and Snohomish County departments, staff of the State Archives in Olympia assisted in emergency salvage of photographs, documents, and artifacts that were removed from the slide area.  

On Saturday, March 22, 2014, a historic landslide, the largest in state history, occurred near the community of Oso, Washington. A portion of an unstable hill collapsed, sending mud and debris across the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, engulfing a rural neighborhood. Forty-three people were killed.

Family photos, heirlooms, and irreplaceable personal possessions might have been considered lost forever, but determined spotters assisting in the debris removal efforts retrieved personal property and sent them to a specially-equipped warehouse. Here specialists and  experts carefully sorted, decontaminated, and cataloged the family bibles, family keepsakes, love letters, and vital records. Most of the recovered material were muddybut could be cleaned and laid out to dry. Some items were too saturated for preservation efforts onsite and were placed in freezers to safely stabilize them. A reunification process has been established by Snohomish County allowing family members to visit the facility and recover lost property.

Photos courtesy of the Office of the Governor and the Washington State Patrol