Officials were warned about dangers of Wash. mudslide area

Snohomish County officials in a 2010 report were warned that neighborhoods along the Stillaguamish River were ranked “as one of the highest risk areas for deadly and destructive landslides," according to The Seattle Times.

The document contradicts claims from an emergency-management official that the area “was considered very safe” and that the slide “came out of nowhere.”

The Times also found state records showing that the plateau that gave way Saturday had been logged for almost a century. Scientists in recent decades had warned that the slope was becoming unstable and could potentially lead to calamity.

More coverage: Before and after map | Photos | Victim list

A father-son logging team in Vermont with a history of environmental and criminal violations is implicated in yet another investigation, while the landowners who contracted them are left with the bill for environmental remediation on their property, Hilary Niles for VTDigger, reports.

State authorities won't even use the word "logging" to describe what the men do, but they can call themselves loggers because the industry is unregulated in the state.