People pause for moment of silence one week after landslide hit

DARRINGTON, Wash. — People across the state paused for a moment of silence this morning - marking the minute the landslide hit.

And nowhere was it felt more than in the heart of the devastation.

Darrington firefighters and the mayor paused to reflect on the moment that has changed so much in a week.

Photos of some of the missing and dead can be viewed here.

See photos of the disaster here.

At exactly 10:37 a.m. the Darrington Fire Department came to a halt.

"Let's pause for a moment of silence," said Pastor Michael De Luca.

A crowd stood in front of the fire department to remember the victims lost in last Saturday's landslide, their families left behind and the community that has banded together like never before.

“We thank you that you have given us so many great volunteers,” prayed De Luca.

Darrington Mayor Dan Rankin was at the hardware store picking up supplies for a morning project when the slide hit.

He says healing will take time.

"And (the) likelihood is we will never be whole again," he said.

Next door, Darrington High School cheerleaders spent the day holding a bake sale for the victims and survivors.

They say they've noticed something positive around town.

“Everyone's just working together right now and it's really good to see," said 16-year-old Taylor Lindeman.

But in the long run, the mayor knows the hillside above Highway 530 will serve as a constant and heartbreaking reminder.

“Even if they change where the road goes we will see that scar and that scar is in our hearts… There’s no getting over that,” he said. “That scar on the mountain will never heal nor will the scar in our hearts  ever heal."

KIRO