High water and mudslides cause havoc

Highway 26 shut down east of Sandy, Bill’s Automotive wiped out

By Garth Guibord

The Sandy Post, Jan 2, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (3 Reader comments)

Steve Brown / Sandy Post

Bill's Automotive is crushed Friday morning under the weight of a landslide that originated from a steep embankment leading up to Highway 26, just west of Bluff Road.

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Sandy area rivers flowed over, mudslides closed area roads and destroyed Bill’s Automotive Repair early in the morning on Friday, Jan. 2.

According to Sandy Police Sergeant David Lundervold, sometime around 1 or 1:30 a.m., a bank above Bill’s Automotive and on the south side of Highway 26 on the west end of Sandy gave way, bringing down trees and destroying the building.

“(It’s) not the way I wanted the year to start out,” said Bill King, owner of the shop, who spent the morning at the site but will not be able to enter the wreckage until the building inspector says it is safe. “From the looks of the outside, it doesn’t look too good.”

King, who owned the business for 21 years, reported it was a total loss.

Traffic was contained to one lane on Highway 26 eastbound at the location of the slide, and Lundervold noted that repairs to the road could take time.

“I’m sure this is something that will turn into something a little long-range for the repair and return to normal,” he said.

The slide reportedly affected 9-1-1 service and cell phone service, with 9-1-1 service fully restored by mid-morning. A gas line was also damaged in the incident and a crew from NW Natural is at the scene.

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