The Mountaineer reports: An engineer overseeing repair work where a giant mudslide originated Friday said the disaster could have been twice as bad and perhaps fatal had owners of the mountaintop amusement park not been proactive in trying to correct a problem. ...

Rick Wooten, a geologist with the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said recent snowfall, followed by heavy rains on Feb. 5, triggered the slide that originated at the retaining wall. However, an investigation continues on what caused the slide and what role the retaining wall played in the disaster.

Issues surrounding the wall have been a slippery slope for quite some time, said engineer Pat Burgin, who was hired by Ghost Town to inspect the wall in 2008 when problems first became apparent. Amusement park officials had been working to stabilize the area before bad weather hit. ...

“Present (park) owners kind of inherited a problem from the previous group of investors,” Burgin said. ...

“Mr. Burgin is wrong,” [Burton Edwards] said. “The proefessional engineer on the project was my uncle Verlin (Edwards), and he is an excellent engineer. (The wall) was designed properly and built properly because he was there everyday when it was put in.”