07:53 PM PST on Sunday, February 12, 2006

By ERIC WILKINSON / KING 5 News

DARRINGTON, Wash. – A potential landslide is threatening to isolate the entire community of Darrington.

Washington State Department of Transportation crews have been monitoring a hillside on State Route 530 between Darrington and Arlington all weekend after it slid 6 inches on Thursday.

Transportation workers say they may have to close the road underneath Skaglin Hill for an unknown length of time to secure the land.

The road is the main connector to I-5 for thousands of people who would have to drive a 110-mile detour if it were closed. The trip to Arlington is normally a 30-mile drive.

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“Depending on how long it shut down it would be pretty big. With the logging community and all those supplies into town based on that road right there, it's a pretty big deal,” said Darrington resident Cory Ross.

Jennifer West worries that her husband's 90-minute commute to work in Bothell will turn into a 3 1/2-hour nightmare.

“We won't see him, at all. The kids will barely see him in the morning on their way to school and they'll definitely be in bed by the time he gets home,” she said.

At Darrington's Hampton Lumber Mill, about half of the around 200 workers commute from the other side of the slide.“I think they're pretty scared about having to drive over 100 miles just to get to work. That's half their paycheck,” said mill worker Justin Croom.

Workers are already considering renting rooms or bunking with buddies so they can keep the mill operating.

“Well it'd be a big impact on the mill, of course. You know, we’ve got to run. Exactly how we'll resolve the problem I'm not sure, but we have to run,” said Harold Vickers.

DOT officials hope to have a better idea of how stable the hill is and what they plan to do with it Monday or Tuesday.

“Hopefully they can come up with another solution. I hope so,” said West.