Landslide forces evacuation of 8 Lofall homes

The Poulsbo Fire Department evacuated eight homes following a landslide in Seclusion Cove Monday night.

At approximately 5 p.m. Jan. 4 firefighters were dispatched to a structure fire. The message from dispatch included a vehicle and structure fire as well as the need for longer hoses due to access being cut off by a landslide, the department’s Facebook post says.

Kitsap county has been under a flood and landslide watch since Christmas Day with much of the Olympic peninsula set to be saturated for the coming weeks

Due to the landslide, the firefighters concluded that bringing the heavy trucks down was too risky and opted to extinguish the structure fire via boat.

Duty Chief Craig Becker drove his SUV down to the impacted residences, going to each house and telling the families to evacuate as there was evidence that the landslide would continue.

Firefighters returned to the scene via a fireboat, and the crew extinguished the vehicle and structure fires, despite large floating timbers challenging their efforts.

Multiple agencies responded, including the Red Cross, which helped the displaced homeowners find places to stay. As of Jan. 5, all of the families have found lodging. One couple needed a place to stay that allowed pets.

The impact of the landslide is being evaluated by multiple government agencies to determine the next course of action.