Rattlesnake Ridge slide slowing down, experts push back collapse

UNION GAP, Wash. — The Department of Natural Resources says it's no longer predicting when a landslide event at Rattlesnake Ridge could occur.

Spokane Public Radio says a geologist with the department told state lawmakers that a collapse at Rattlesnake Ridge may not happen in early March.

A massive crack along Rattlesnake Ridge near Union Gap in Yakima County emerged in October.

Yakima County, the city Union Gap, and the city of Yakima have all declared a disaster in response to the slide.

Department spokesman Joe Smiley says the slide slowed back down to a rate of 1.6 feet per week after previously speeding up by about a tenth of a foot per week.