House in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood slides off foundations in wake of heavy rain

Heavy rain on Friday, Jan. 7, caused a house in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood to slide 15-20 feet off its foundations, with several other houses in the area also at risk.

The steep slope area behind the house likely slid due to high levels of precipitation, Seattle fire says, which resulted in the top floor of the structure partially collapsing on top of the daylight basement.

The home is located along Perkins Lane. Responders were able to rescue one adult male who was trapped in the basement inside, and asked people to keep the area clear for emergency vehicles. Another adult female was able to escape on her own. One dog was found deceased, while the other was not located. Both residents were sent to Harborview Medical Center in stable condition.

This is footage of the house and hillside that slid at 2400 block of Perkins Ln. W. Upon our arrival we extricated one adult male who was trapped in the basement inside. An adult female was able to escape on her own. One dog is deceased, the other has not been located yet. pic.twitter.com/GDEELYf2qG

— Seattle Fire Dept. (@SeattleFire) January 7, 2022

Crews also had to put out a fire while staging rescue efforts for the resident trapped inside. According to the Fireline blog post about the landslide, firefighters laid hose lines to reach the fire on the backside of the house that involved two 500-gallon propane tanks. The fire was under control in about 25 minutes.

The Seattle Police Department also responded to the scene and helped to evacuate a neighboring home, and blocked roads in the slide area. Seattle Public Utilities and Seattle City Light shut off water and electricity to the structure.

Seattle Fire Department responders “demobilized from the site” shortly before 4 p.m. Friday.

The blog post also notes that Seattle’s Department of Construction and Inspections sent a structural inspector to the site to investigate damage to the existing buildings and determine if neighboring structures could be reoccupied. The department will make recommendations to the homeowner on next steps. The home that partially collapsed has been “red tagged,” which means no one can enter.

This isn’t the first time a slide has damaged homes on Perkins Lane. Following a wet winter in 1996, a major slide destroyed five homes in the area, with one catching fire from an electrical short caused by the incident.

It’s estimated that 2 inches of rain fell in Seattle on Thursday, marking the seventh wettest day the city has ever seen in January.

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