A work crew moves a concrete barrier Saturday that failed to stop a slow-motion landslide in Jackson, Wyo., as houses and businesses in the slide zone remained at risk.

JACKSON, Wyo. — What’s happening in this Wyoming resort town might be better described as a land creep than a landslide, but the lack of speed has not hindered the sheer power of the moving earth.

Over the past two weeks, a piece of East Gros Ventre Butte has slowly collapsed toward the west side of Jackson — shearing one hillside home in half, threatening to devour several others and looming ever more ominously over a cluster of businesses below.

No one can say precisely when the mountainside will cease its slow droop into Jackson or finally give way. But it appears likely that it’s going to take a piece of Jackson with it.

Emergency workers have tried in vain to shore up the slow-moving slope, attracting a steady parade of the curious and camera-wielding gawkers.

“We don’t know what Mother Nature wants to do here. She’s shown us quite a bit,” Jackson Fire Chief Willy Watsabaugh said as he stood at the edge of the slide zone, its rocky slope rising sharply behind him.

The rate of movement slowed Saturday, giving crews a chance to get back in and reassess the damage, Watsabaugh said. The chief said he’s seen many slides in the mountains around Jackson but never one in town.

Town officials first noticed significant hill movement April 4. They evacuated 42 homes April 9.

Workers and residents had watched helplessly on Thursday and Friday as a sudden acceleration of movement prompted authorities to suspend their efforts to shore up the slope as falling rocks created a hazard.

Work resumed over the weekend with a new focus: repairing some of the damage the slide already has caused, including a break in a sewer line on Friday. On Saturday evening, officials postponed the sewer line work until today because of access issues.