The steady rains that fell continuously for three days prior to failure were apparently the
final straw for the dangerous structure (Nugent, 1973). Just as the dam was beginning to
overtop, the piled waste became saturated, liquefied, and collapsed completely within seconds of
the initial failure. Over two million tons of waste materials, which had been described by a
miner just prior to failure as having gone soft, were completely swept away in the released
waters to form a black wave of fluid. It took just one minute to reach and destroy the community
of Saunders. Hours later, the valley lay silent in shock, covered by a layer of sludge. Over 125
were killed as the wave coursed through several small streamside communities (Erikson, 1976).