NILE VALLEY -- Residents shaken by a massive landslide that rerouted the Naches River and buried part of State Route 410 are now being warned they could face a long period of isolation.

More than 80 residents gathered at Nile Valley Community Church on Friday were told they could be blocked from reaching outside communities for at least 30 days.

"You need to be prepared to be cut off for an extended period of time," said Yakima County Commissioner Mike Leita. "You have already experienced hardship and you may experience even more."

Rain could cause the mountainside to break loose again, officials said, adding that large cracks in the soil are visible just to the west of the slide. That, or rising waters from the Naches River could take out the Nile Road, which now links residents to communities to the east, including Yakima and Naches. Snowfall is typically so heavy to the west on Chinook Pass that the road is almost always shut for the winter.

"I'm not saying that (a cutoff) is going to happen, but we need a plan in case it does," said county Public Service Director Vern Redifer said.

A day before Gov. Chris Gregoire is expected to fly over the area, county officials traveled to this small community to learn how residents are dealing with the aftermath of Sunday's landslide and what help they need.

"What do we need to bring up here? What do you need?" Redifer asked.

Residents, many of them recalling the flood of 1996 that cut them off for about two weeks from the outside, reacted calmly.

One resident said she had enough supplies for three months, but wondered how she and her neighbors would get animal feed into the area.

Others asked what financial help would be available if their property is damaged by another slide or flood waters.

Meanwhile, about a mile to the east of the meeting, work crews dumped and compacted fill over a damaged section of the Nile Road, raising it slightly higher than the nearby river that was flowing over it just days ago.

River water rushed through six newly installed culverts beneath the
repaired section of the road and headed toward a swath of pasture land, a barn and a few mobile homes. Overhead, a military helicopter flew past.

Traffic on the road is restricted to one lane and is open only to area residents and work crews.

Department of Transportation officials told residents how they were racing to repair the road, plot another more permanent road to replace the buried stretch of SR 410 and carve a channel to redirect river water.

"We're still dealing with an unstable landslide," Don Whitehouse, regional administrator for the Transportation Department. "We're balancing the risk of the river, we're balancing the risk of the slide."

Houses threatened by another slide or flooding are being red-tagged.

Residents were urged by county Assessor Dave Cook to begin calculating property damage to reduce their tax burden and to take pictures of their property now in case it becomes damaged in the future.

Commissioners said they would try to get some federal aid to the area, and staff is working to compile total damage costs in hopes of obtaining federal assistance.

Other residents have begun moving their belongings from their homes.

David Rose, whose mobile home is surrounded by about a foot of water, has been moving items out and taking them to his Selah home.

"We've got most of our stuff out of there," he said. "I've got about four truckloads left in there," he said.

Clyde Robinson lost two mobile homes that were on his two acres at the base of the slide and said his plans to build a home on the property are ruined.

He had finished adding fill for the construction of a home just three days before the slide forced the river across his land.

"It's looks there are about 10 or 20 of us down there that are going to have to relocate," he said.

* Phil Ferolito can be reached at 509-577-7749 or pferolito@yakimaherald.com.