Seattle crosses 'landslide threshold'

SEATTLE - The landslide risk has just gone up, according to the City of Seattle.

Seattle PUD Senior Engineer Jim Lee said Wednesday the recent rains have taken miles of hillsides past a so-called "landslide threshold."

"(It means) we are at a heightened risk for slides in the city," said Lee, who monitors the the integrity of hillsides.

Lee says the amount of rain in the past 15-17 days now increases the risk.

He's encouraged crews to do some maintenance in the higher elevations of the city, to try and prevent debris blockage.

Ken Wilkinson, who lives under a hill in West Seattle, says it's always something he thinks about this time of year, as well as his neighbors.

"People are so aware of the potential for mud and landslide because it is such a steep hill," he said, "(that) these hills are never touched."