Washington's Avalanche

                                                      Disaster: Avalanche sends two trains
                                                                   into the bottom of a gorge

Date: February 28, 1910

Deaths: 96
Survivors: 23

Changes: Trains take a new route that uses tunnels as protection against future avalanches.


Lesson Learned: Don't cut down trees on slopes above towns and railways.

Photo from: http://barkingrabbits.blogspot.com/2008/03/huge-avalanche-buries-two-trains-to.html

On Feb 28th of 1910 a blizzard hit Washington state with snow, ice and strong winds. History Channel wrote that the storm caused "high snow drifts in the Cascade Mountains that blocked the rail lines." Telephone lines were put down preventing communication with the outside world.

The Spokane Express, headed to Seattle from Spokane, was traveling on the Great Northern Railroads when a devastating rumble began. Due to snow covering the tracks the train could not move and had no protection. At 4:20am huge amounts of snow came rolling down Windy Mountain's side pushing a couple of trains into the gorge below (150 feet down.) With the avalanche came loud noises of trees snapping and other debris as it raced down the mountain destroying everything in its path.

A witness by the name of Charles Andrews declared the avalanche to be "white death" (history.com.)  Charles Andrews was a railroad worker and Wellington resident at the time. Not only did the avalanche wipe out the trains, but the Wellington train station as well.

History Channel goes on to say that the trains at the bottom of the gorge "were covered in 40 to 70 feet of snow and debris." With telephone lines down calls could not be made for outside help. "Despite the risk of further avalanches, many people pitched in to try to dig out survivors; it was not until the night of March 2 that assistance from outside Wellington was able to reach the site" (history.com.) In all, 23 people were pulled out alive and 96 killed. Of the survivors most were seriously injured.

In 1910 and further back people would cut down trees on slopes of mountains above a town. The Washington Avalanche is blamed on this practice writes History Channel.