Survivors and victims' families joined Gov. Jay Inslee, other leaders and the surrounding communities to dedicate the 'Oso Strong' Memorial.
KIRO Newsradio was in Oso on the 10th anniversary of the landslide that killed 43 people on Friday, March 22, 2024. The SR 530 Slide Memorial was dedicated after a years-long effort to complete it. killed 43 people without warning in the small town of Oso. On Friday, survivors, first responders, and families of the victims joined Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, state and local leaders and the surrounding communities to dedicate theor the “Oso Strong” Memorial.
He and hundreds of others began digging through the millions of tons of sand, mud, and debris— some with their bare hands. “My sister was an amazing person. She was selfless,” said Psonka. “She was the glue that kept our whole family together.”Brunner, Pszonka and other family members spent years working on the idea of a permanent memorial — where relatives and visitors could feel the presence of their lost loved ones and reflect on the serenity that drew people to Oso, as well as the forces that left an immense scar in the forested Cascade Mountain foothills.
But community members wanted a permanent tribute. They held fundraisers, lobbied lawmakers for money and attended planning committee meetings. They wanted to honor not just the lives lost, but the community response. “The memorial site itself has four main items. You come in and it talks about the geological event itself, the first responders, the community and the community response, the survivors, and the victims,” Brunner explained.
“There’s a paved trail, which is used to be the railroad tracks,” said Brunner. “But it’s paved for only a mile, which represents where the slide started and ended.” But while he has sought peace elsewhere, he believes the memorial is a chance to say the goodbye he never got to 10 years ago.
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