A Small Silver Lining

Several weeks ago, there was a massive mudslide in a remote area of the Cascade Mountains north of Chemult, Oregon. It covered almost two-thirds of a mile of Union Pacific track up to 200 feet deep, interrupting all rail traffic including Amtrak’s Coast Starlight, which runs daily in both directions between Los Angeles and Seattle over UP tracks. A huge clean-up effort is in progress, but it’s complicated by the fact that thousands of old-growth trees were toppled by the slide and they have to be cut up and cleared away, too, and it’s all costing Union Pacific millions. So what ‘s that about a silver lining? Well, the arrival of several hundred people, mostly clean-up crews, has proven to be a boon to several of the little communities in the area … so says the LA Times.