Evacuations eased for slipping Wyoming hill
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — A landslide expert says the odds are low for a catastrophic collapse of an unstable hillside in the northwest Wyoming resort town of Jackson.
The specialist gives less than a 5 percent chance that the hillside will completely fail.
As a result, authorities in Jackson have downgraded their evacuation order for some businesses below the hill. A restaurant and pharmacy remain closed, and about 60 nearby residents are still being kept from returning to their homes on Friday.
Town Manager Bob McLaurin tells the Jackson Hole News & Guide (http://bit.ly/R9t4W4 ) that work is being done to determine the exact dimensions of the area that is unstable.
The shifting hillside has caused visible cracks, stretched power lines, buckled pavement and damaged homes.
