Photo by Russell Harte

A huge avalanche occurred at the Hyak ski area.

SNOQUALMIE PASS, Wash. – Kittitas County authorities evacuated homes in the Hyak area after an avalanche of mud and snow damaged several homes just east of Snoqualmie Pass.

Kittitas County Sheriff Gene Dana said most of the homes were weekend homes of skiers and backcountry enthusiasts.

He said the slide is about 100 yards wide.

No injuries were reported.

David Brentlinger, a geologist who lives at Hyak, estimated that a half million cubic feet of snow, rocks, trees and debris came down in the slide.

Another Hyak resident, James Sammet, said tower lifts were damaged.

KING 5 Meteorologist Rich Marriott said it was a “climax” avalanche, where all the snow on the ground, right down to the ground surface, was swept away.

“Very dangerous conditions,” he said. “It’s very hard to predict exactly where that’s going to happen and one of the reasons they have to keep the passes closed is this type of avalanche does not respond well to avalanche control.”

MORE: Passes closed due to avalanche risk