Disaster in Tye, Washingon

On March 1, 1910, a giant piece of snow broke loose on windy mountain in Wellington, Washington, now called Tye.  Earlier, trains on the Great Northern Railroad had been stranded on the tracks due to  all the snow.  They couldn't dig them out fast enough to let the trains continue.  Some passengers managed to escape from the trains and go to the town until the train started again, but many stayed.  This avalanche was so deadly, it is the worst avalanche in U.S. history, and the tenth worst in the entire world.  In the end, 96 people were dead.  58 employees of the railroad, 35 passengers on the trains, and 3 employees that were in the depot were dead when it all ended.  They were able to rescue some people from under the snow, and when it melted a little bit more they found more bodies underneath the layers.  Afterwards, it took them three whole weeks just to repair the tracks so the trains could run again.  Most people were taken by surprise by this avalanche, but since there was so much snow, it was easy for it to come loose.  A clap of thunder was what caused the snow to come down.  This devastating event will always be remembered because of how bad it was.  Now there is a hiking trail with old artifacts along it from the railroad, which is no longer running.
a train swept down windy mountain in the avalanche