Thursday, March 27, 2014

Rural, in the Washington state landslide

I see rural themes running throughout the coverage of the catastrophic landslide north of Seattle, in Oso,  this week.  Those themes include community, lack of anonymity, and--today--a focus on the loggers who are working on the rescue and recovery effort as volunteers.  Here's an excerpt from a story by Ian Lovett just posted to the New York Times:  
Two days after a giant landslide engulfed the small community of Oso and rescue workers struggled to find either survivors or victims amid the sea of muck, a group of volunteers — many of them loggers — drove along back roads and trails on Monday to reach the site. They immediately began to dig, looking for their neighbors and, in some cases, friends and relatives.
Other stories tell of local volunteers going in, whether authorized or not.  This one, featuring the 27-year-old state trooper who was first on the scene and helped rescue a baby and his mother, is especially poignant.  He grew up in nearby Marysville and has often patrolled this area during his 7-year career as a trooper.

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