Unlike rafting tour, Oso community event is healthy

People who lived through the Oso landslide and recovery efforts banded together for a two-day community event.

For the first time since March 22, 2014, all the people involved in the Oso community and rescue were invited to get together for the “United by Mud” reunion, an event closed to the public. The gathering began Friday and was scheduled through Saturday.

The last time most of the people saw each other were under very trying circumstances, KIRO Radio’s Ron Upshaw pointed out.

“I think it’s a beautiful thing,” KIRO Radio’s Don O’Neill said.

Though he understands it would not be acceptable to show up for the private event, Ron wants to know when it will be OK for the public to go to the site that left 43 people dead. It’s not a morbid fascination, he said, but it was a major event that he is curious about; looking at online coverage only tells so much.

“I want to go up there again, but I want to feel comfortable doing it,” he told Don.

It’s probably best to let the Oso-Darrington community decide, Don responded.

When Don went down to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, guides began holding tours through the lower ninth ward. The argument was the tour companies needed to make money.

“It really angered a lot of people,” Don explained. “I got that.”

Tours after Hurricane Katrina probably angered people in a similar way as that of a rafting tour through Oso. Despite requests from the community to not host the trip, the owner of a local company led a small group through the slide area anyway. Needless to say, there were some people left shocked.

“I think you need to give room for the community to heal,” Don continued. “I’m happy to learn from the Internet.”