Seventeen of those 24 victims have been positively identified, the Snohomish County medical examiner's office said yesterday. Previously, the official death toll was 21, with 15 victims identified.
More than two dozen people remain missing, authorities have said.
Steve Harris, a division supervisor for the search effort, said search teams are learning more about the force of the March 22 slide, and that is helping them better locate victims in a debris field that is 70 feet (21 meters) deep in places.
Harris said search dogs are the primary tool for finding remains in the small, mountainside community about 55 miles (88 kilometers) northeast of Seattle.
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He said searchers are finding human remains four to six times per day. Sometimes crews only find partial remains, which makes the identification process harder.
A makeshift road completed over the weekend links one side of the 300-acre debris field to the other.
Searchers have had to contend with treacherous conditions, including household chemicals, septic tanks, gasoline and propane containers. When rescuers and dogs leave the site, they are hosed off by hazardous materials crews. Gov.
Last week, a federal emergency declaration was approved that provided a federal disaster team and specialized personnel to the slide area.
Estimated financial losses have reached USD 10 million, Inslee said, adding that about 30 families need assistance with housing, along with personal and household goods. The estimated losses include nearly USD 7 million in structures and more than USD 3 million in their contents, Inslee's letter said.
Members of the Seattle Seahawks football team and Seattle Sounders soccer team were scheduled to visit with community members yesterday evening.