Washout claims 120 feet of Snoqualmie Valley Trail

The Snoqualmie Valley Trail is impassable at roughly its mid-point just north of Fall City after a major washout last night destroyed a 120-foot section of the trail.

'Our first concern is for public safety, so we immediately closed the trail and posted warning signs,' said King County Parks Director Suzanne Little. 'There is a vertical drop of about 80 feet where the trail is washed out and the area remains very unstable.'

Little said it will likely be at least several months before the trail is back in commission. She said King County will have a better idea about how long it will take to make repairs after an engineering assessment is completed.

'The stream is too small to cause this type of damage, so we suspect a beaver dam broke loose upstream after yesterday's heavy rainstorm, released logs and water and carried it downstream where it overwhelmed the culvert that runs under the trail,' Little said.

The trail section is very popular with equestrians and signs are also being posted at a nearby horse trailer parking area to let riders know the trail is impassable to the north. Equestrians using the parking area still have access to the southern half of the trail.

An AT&T fiberoptic cable was also washed out. The cable went out between 10:30 and 11 p.m. Tuesday evening, helping crews pinpoint the time of the slide.