Slides block Burke-Gilman, westbound Highway 18 at Auburn

Heavy rains have created unstable slopes around the Puget Sound area, triggering mudslides that have closed a state highway near Auburn and a popular trail north of Seattle.

The state Transportation Department says traffic on Highway 18 will be disrupted into Saturday by a landslide blocking the westbound lanes near Highway 167 at Auburn.

And a section of the Burke-Gilman Trail is expected to remain closed at least through the weekend, as shifting saturated ground continues to make work in the area unsafe.

Transportation Department spokeswoman Kris Olsen says experts who inspected the Highway 18 slide today found that it was still moving. With rain continuing to fall, they decided to wait until Saturday to determine when it is safe for cleanup crews.

Mud, rocks and debris slid down Thursday night onto the pavement.

Westbound traffic on Highway 18 is diverted to Highway 181 and the Peasley Canyon Road to reach Interstate 5. Olsen says Highway 18 a well-used route for truckers and other traffic in south and east King County.

The Burke-Gilman Trail has been closed from roughly Northeast 155th Street and Northeast 142nd Street in Lake Forest Park.

King County Parks staff say the ground along the portion of the trail is unstable as a result of persistent rain, and the threat of additional landslides remains high. Damage assessment, clean up of the estimated 60 yards of debris that cover the trail and any necessary emergency repairs will have to wait until the conditions have eased, according to King County officials.

In the Sammamish area, a tree fell onto a car, causing minor injuries to the male driver, according to the King County Sheriff's Office.

The tree crashed into the man's vehicle at 7:35 a.m., about an eighth of a mile up from East Lake Sammamish Parkway, around the 4200 block of 212th Way Southeast, said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart. The driver was able to get out of the car on his own before police and medics showed up, he said.

The falling tree pulled down some power lines, so a Puget Sound Energy crew was also called to the scene, Urquhart said. The road was closed until about 9:15 a.m.

Seattle Times staff reporters Jack Broom and Sara Jean Green and The Associated Press contributed to this report