Work to assess mudslide continues

By Terry Murry on Thursday, January 13th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

PENDLETON – It will take time to fully assess damages and liability in the mudslide that rendered two homes on the 200 block of Southeast Goodwin Avenue uninhabitable Saturday. Public Works Director Bob Patterson said the slide was traced to a burst water pipe at an unoccupied home that was being remodeled above the damaged homes.

“We discovered there had been water in the basement up to about two and a half, three feet at some period,” Patterson said. “There was a broken pipe. The basement wasn’t well heated.”

Patterson predicts it will take time for the insurance companies and the city attorney to determine the fate of the damaged structures as well as the liability. He said it’s unlikely the city will participate in any necessary hillside repairs.

“That is all private property,” he said.

A much more immediate problem is faced by the tenants of the two damaged homes.

“The next step is for our building official and our city engineer to look at those two structures,” he said. “Folks want to get back in and get their things out of those structures. We need to make sure they’re sound so they can do that.”