Families of Oso landslide victims fight for permanent memorial 7 years after the tragedy

Families want permanent memorial for Oso slide victims

43 people were killed in the landslide back in 2014

OSO, Wash. - On March 22, 2014, 43 lives were lost when the nation’s largest landslide swept through the Oso community in Snohomish County.

The slide scar from seven years ago has started healing, but the pain this community feels is still very raw and families are hoping others have not forgotten what happened that day.

Joel Johnson, a chaplain for the Oso Fire Department, was there the day of the slides, and the many days that followed.

"As time goes by, it is natural for us for our lives to move in different directions," he said.

A lot has changed since the slide in 2014, and for Johnson, being back at the site is surreal.

"It’s hard not to have memories come back, It's hard not to, but ultimately turning those memories into remembrance of those that we lost," he said.

Although there is still unfathomable pain, Johnson said even that is starting to turn around.

"Beyond sympathy, there is a lot of empathy here. People are walking in each other’s shoes, they are holding each other up, they’re embracing each other, and that is very very good, good for the heart, good for the healing process."

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At the site of the slide, there are 43 trees, one for each victim. People come and pay respects by leaving mementos, but family members say the trees alone are not enough.

"I want them to pay their respects to something that is more than just trees on the side of the freeway," said Jessica Pszonka, who lost six family members in the slide.

While countless people have come together to raise more than a million dollars, that won’t be enough to build what the family members and the Snohomish County parks department have settled on.

Sharon Swan with Snohomish County said the department has tried to include everything the family members want.

"It’s a huge responsibility, but it has really been so wonderful to share with the families and really try to hear what they want, what they are looking for," she said.

Swan said that the design for the memorial has been scaled back tremendously.

"We are just dealing with the reality of what we have got and doing what we can and getting it built as we can," she explained.

The current concept is still one some families worry they will never see in their lifetime.

"It's like a punch in the gut. It really is. In the grand scheme of things, $4 million is nothing to some, and it is everything to others, and it’s everything to us right now because it is the only thing standing in the way to have this permanent memorial," Pszonka explained.

Even if all of the materials are provided by generous donors, they will still be short roughly $1.5 million, so help is still very much needed.

"It’s a big goal and it’s an important one. It would be terrific if we got, you know, a check for $3 million and we could just turn around just do it," Swan said.

The devastated family members fear the memory of their loved ones will be forgotten, grown over like the physical scar left behind seven years ago.

Johnson said he feels the permanent memorial is necessary.

"It provides a healing place and a quiet place and a sacred place for the community, and even people that are just passing by to pay their respects," he said.

While the pain for people in the Oso, Arlington and Darrington communities is still incredibly raw, they say it’s a feeling that will be there for years to come, and they will be out here remembering those lost until they can’t anymore.

If you would like more information on the memorial and what is needed to build it, click here.