Volunteers fix up Darrington landslide relief center

DARRINGTON -- Volunteers are making a few repairs and upgrades to the Darrington Community Center, which was the center for the town’s relief efforts following the Highway 530 landslide.

'It was just the hub. It was where everybody gathered. The doors never shute they were just opening and closing constantly,” said Diane Boyd with the community center.

On Friday morning, volunteers helped re-paint parts of the building and made a few other minor repairs. The project was part of a volunteer project, Days of Caring, sponsored by the United Way of Snohomish County. The volunteers work at local aerospace company Senior Aerospace Absolute Manufacturing.

“We had a lot of our employees who were affected by that and had loved ones who were involved in it,” said Derick Baisa, company spokesperson.

This week, Snohomish County announced construction crews have completed debris removal around Highway 530. Crews removed and processed 200,000 cubic yards of material from the slide zone.

Meanwhile, construction continues on a new section of the highway expected to be complete next month.

“There is progress being made, but we will always think about what was there and who was there,” said Boyd.