House lost to mud slide

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A mud slide destroyed a home Friday, briefly trapping its occupants, and flooding, mud and deep snow blocked roads as the latest winter storm pummeled the Northwest.

Residents of a home in suburban Lake Oswego called 911 early Friday saying they were trapped after mud flowed into their home, filling the first floor. They escaped out a window and were taken to a hospital, said deputy Fire Marshall Gert Zoutendijk. He said their lives were not in danger.

Outside Portland in Clackamas County, about 30 families were evacuated from a mobile home park because of flooding and about 60 roads were closed. County officials declared a state of emergency.

The storm dropped just over 3 inches of rain east of Portland before the sky cleared during the morning, and 3.9 inches fell in Aurora, south of the city.

In the Cascade range in Washington, heavy snow kept one of that state’s three main east-west mountain passes closed Friday.

All three Cascade passes were closed for most of New Year’s Day, but crews reopened Interstate 90 across Snoqualmie Pass late Thursday and U.S. 2 and U.S. 12 over Stevens Pass on Friday morning.

Avalanche warnings were in effect for the Cascades and Olympics in Washington.

Southeast of Portland, a highway east of Sandy remained shut down Friday by a slide that piled mud and broken trees up 2 feet deep on Thursday.

Oregon’s Columbia River Highway was closed by slides between the Vista House and Multnomah Falls, and the state Department of Transportation reported numerous other closings, including one lane of Interstate 205 south of Portland.