Crime & Safety

Sumner Mudslide Caused by Breaking of Retention Dam

A mudslide on the 3500 block of East Valley Highway in Sumner blocked the road for most of late yesterday evening.

A retention pond on the 3500 block of East Valley Highway in Sumner, just north of Clerget Corner, ruptured around 4:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon. The result caused a great deal of water to run down the hillside, said Sumner Police Chief John Galle.

No vehicles or surrounding utilities were damaged, but the mudslide created a "significant obstacle" for commuters.

"In the few minutes we took to respond, traffic was already backed up to 45th St.Β  We shut roads down from about the 4500 block on the south to Forest Canyon on the north," said Galle.

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Police, Sumner Public Works and City Transfer of Kent (CTI), which owns the property, worked through the evening to clear the roadway. It did not reopen for traffic until 10:30 p.m. that evening.


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