SEATTLE — Some of the beloved coastal cabins near Kalaloch Lodge in Olympic National Park will be demolished next week because of an eroding bluff, the National Park Service announced.
Ten rental units in seven cabins are now within 16 feet of the bluff’s edge and have been deemed unsafe for occupancy, according to the service, which owns the land. Five cabins were deemed unsafe last year, but more erosion this winter imperiled two more structures, said the park service’s deputy superintendent, Kevin Killian.
The main lodge and the other 34 cabins are not currently threatened, according to Killian.
“We are sorry to say goodbye to these cabins, but visitor safety must come first,” Killian said in a statement. “Even without the cabins, the experience of visiting this wild coastline will endure.”
Erosion has long been a factor at the cabins, though its rate has accelerated in the past 10 years, Killian said.
According to Steve Fradkin, a coastal ecologist with Olympic National Park, the accelerating bluff erosion is due to more wave energy hitting vertical bluff faces, which become saturated with rainwater during the winter.
Over the years, the bluffs have become less sloped and more vertical, resulting in more erosion when waves hit them, he said.
“The ultimate causes of these changed physical conditions are consistent with what we expect from climate change — increased frequency and magnitude of storm events that result in the co-occurrence of large waves during high tide events,” he said in an emailed statement.
According to Olympic National Park, 13 feet of bluff was eroded in December and January because of a combination of king tides, strong winter storms and freeze-thaw events. The bluff is made up of sand, gravel and stone, making it especially susceptible to the natural process of erosion, according to the park.
The cabins and the lodge, which has a store and a restaurant, are run by global entertainment and hospitality group Delaware North through a concessionaire contract. The area was originally developed by the Becker family in the 1920s, a few years before the Olympic Loop Highway was built.
The company has worked with guests to reschedule their visits or find other housing, said Delaware North spokesperson Glen White in a statement. Although “it is an unfortunate circumstance, Kalaloch Lodge remains a compelling destination” and still has rooms at the lodge and other cabins, he said.
