PORTLAND, Oregon — All lanes of I-5 in Southwest Washington are back open back a landslide brought debris down onto the northbound lanes in Woodland and stalled traffic during Monday's afternoon commute.
It was one of two landslides that occurred as an atmospheric river took aim at the Pacific Northwest, bringing steady rain throughout the day.
Photos taken in the Woodland, Washington area on Monday show a section of a hillside along I-5 came down, carrying sizeable trees onto the highway. Washington State Patrol said debris struck at least two vehicles but no one was injured.
The stretch of I-5 north of Woodland has seen two other significant landslides in recent years, one of which kept one lane of the northbound freeway closed for weeks while crews repaired and stabilized the hillside.
On Monday morning, a section of the Historic Columbia River Highway near Corbett was also shut down for a couple of hours because of a landslide. There was so much mud and debris that parts of a concrete guardrail washed away.
Crews with the Oregon Department of Transportation are going to be monitoring hillsides along the coast range and through the Columbia River Gorge over the next couple of days due to the risk of landslides with rain in the forecast.
“Anytime we see this much rainfall, we always get concerned in certain areas, also along Highway 99 E, there’s some very steep hillsides there," said ODOT spokesperson Don Hamilton
Since March, the Portland area has seen nearly seven inches of rain. More rain is in the forecast through the middle part of the week. The rain is not just taking a toll on the roads, but also people in the area.
“I’m generally a fan of rainy weather, but I’m not ready for it to be over, we were planning on going on a hike but we decided it was going to be too muddy,” said Naomi Hemstreet, who spoke to KGW while in downtown Portland.
While some people are hating our wet spring, other people are loving it and even thinking of moving here. Our crew caught up with a couple visiting from Denver who said they would take the rain-soaked Pacific Northwest over the snow-covered mountains in Colorado.
“I love the rain, I thrive in it,” said Ezra Edlund, who said he plans on moving to Portland later this summer.
There may be some relief coming from the rain soon as sunny, warmer and drier weather is possible this upcoming weekend.