© 2026 Boise State Public Radio
NPR in Idaho
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Flags Lowered Across Washington To Honor Landslide Victims

NWNews | By Tom Banse,
Tom Banse
Published April 15, 2014 at 4:16 PM MDT
Flags fly at half mast in front of Washington State Capitol.
Tom Banse
/
Northwest News Network
Flags fly at half mast in front of Washington State Capitol.

Flags are flying at half mast across Washington state this afternoon to honor victims of last month's deadly landslide.

A solitary bagpiper played "Amazing Grace" as two state patrolmen slowly lowered the state and national flags flying over the capitol plaza in Olympia. Governor Jay Inslee requested flags statewide be flown at half staff for one week.

After the flag lowering ceremony, the governor traveled back to the disaster area. Inslee said he wants to observe a community meeting to discuss reopening a severed highway -- SR 530.

The governor says how to do that "in a safe and respectful way" presents a challenge. He adds the state is giving this increasing focus.

Earlier Tuesday, the Snohomish County Medical Examiner raised the death toll from last month's slide to 37. That's an increase of one. The number of missing remains at seven.

Copyright 2021 Northwest News Network. To see more, visit Northwest News Network.

Tom Banse
Tom Banse covers business, environment, public policy, human interest and national news across the Northwest. He reports from well known and out–of–the–way places in the region where important, amusing, touching, or outrageous events are unfolding. Tom's stories can be heard during "Morning Edition," "Weekday," and "All Things Considered" on NPR stations in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
See stories by Tom Banse
Tom Banse
Tom Banse covers national news, business, science, public policy, Olympic sports and human interest stories from across the Northwest. He reports from well known and out–of–the–way places in the region where important, amusing, touching, or outrageous events are unfolding. Tom's stories can be found online and heard on-air during "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" on NPR stations in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

You make stories like this possible.

The biggest portion of Boise State Public Radio's funding comes from readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

Your donation today helps make our local reporting free for our entire community.

Donate