August 25, 2009 Tsunami: Columbia River Valley, WA, United States

A landslide struck the Blue Creek Campground along the banks of the Columbia River Tuesday afternoon, triggering a tsunami which wiped out some docks at the Porcupine Bay Campground on the other side of the river. The landslide was first reported at around 1:30 pm on the north side of the Spokane River near the Blue Creek Campground located on Spokane Tribal lands. Along with the damage to the Blue Creek Campground the docks at the Porcupine Bay Campground on the opposite side of the river from the slide were completely torn off. (reference #5398)

On August 25th, a landslide on the Spokane River arm of Lake Roosevelt resulting in an inland tsunami. The tsunami damaged the Porcupine Bay Campground and injured two children. (reference #13818)

On Wednesday, August 25th, a large landslide occurred near the Blue Creek drainage on the Spokane Indian Reservation side of the Spokane Arm of the lake. Like the one that occurred on January 16th of this year, responding park staff found that a large section of hillside had broken free, creating a wave that was approximately 12 feet high by the time it hit Porcupine Campground on the southern shore less than a thousand yards across the lake. Rangers had just cleared from a drowning in the Seven Bays area when emergency dispatch in both Stevens and Lincoln Counties alerted them to reports of numerous people in the water at Porcupine Bay as a result of the tsunami caused by the landslide. Joining the park in responding to the incident were units from Lincoln and Stevens Counties, the Washington State Patrol, Medstar, Lincoln County EMS, and the Spokane Tribe. NPS rangers and maintenance staff responding to the incident stopped to perform a quick safety review before heading out on the water. Damage to park facilities - including log booms, docks, and a swim platform - is estimated to be about $250,000. Although Porcupine Campground was closed to allow maintenance crews to perform emergency repairs and clean up, the campground was expected to reopen by this past weekend. (reference #14342)