Avalanche levels home in Leavenworth

Avalanche levels home in Leavenworth

By KOMO Staff & News Services

LEAVENWORTH, Wash. -- An avalanche has swept through an area northwest of Leavenworth, Wash., knocking a large vacation home off its foundation and demolishing it. Chelan County Sheriff Mike Harum says no one was in the house and there were no injuries.

The snow slide hit at about 4:15 p.m. Thursday and flattened the million-dollar home.

"It's about three-fourth of a mile wide by couple thousand feet long. It (the avalanche) took a 3000-square foot house right off its foundation and flattened it," said Sgt. Rob Huddleston with the sheriff's office.

Harum says the owners of the northcentral Washington home used it as a rental for vacationers. It was located beside the Kahler Glen Golf Course.

Neighbor Bill Miller said he was just 300 yards away, shoveling his driveway when the avalanche came crashing down.

"As I was cleaning off the driveway I heard a thunder," he said. "When I looked up the house behind the house was gone."

The home owner received news of the avalanche through a phone call from his neighbor. Carl Shaw said he's just glad the avalanche came down on Thursday and not on Friday.

"The first thing that went through my mind is that I'm glad that we weren't there. We were planning on being there to use it for the weekend for out-of-town guests. And there were going to be 13 people there," he said.

Rescue crews were initially concerned a cleaning crew may have been inside as the home owner had planned to have a gathering at the home on Friday. But crews and dogs from Stevens Pass and the Department of Transportation secured the area and confirmed no one was inside.

The sheriff's office says another home in the area was damaged and crews evacuated 15 nearby homes as a precaution.

---

These before and after photos show the home that was destroyed before the snow swept through, and then the rubble left behind after the avalanche.

Icon
Current Temp 46 °F
Partly Cloudy
More Weather

Travel Times

Traffic

On Demand

Resources and info you need to prepare for the switch to DTV.

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

Viewer Poll

Should Congress approve a $34 billion bailout plan for U.S. automakers?

  • Yes, these industries are too important to fail.
  • No, let them pay for their own mistakes.