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Rough day for travelers, road crews |
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March 18, 2017 |
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| Road crews watch as mud and
trees slide onto Highway 95 on the south
end of the bypass above Ash Street
Saturday afternoon as rain continues to
fall. |
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Boundary County Commissioners have declared an
emergency today as rain and melting snow wreaked
havoc on roads and travel through much of the
county.
At about 12:39 p.m., a report came in of a
mudslide across Ash Street just off Highway 95
in Bonners Ferry, and shortly after an officer
arrived on scene, a second slide came down,
covering both lanes of Highway 95 and shutting
down north/south travel through Bonners Ferry.
Residents on Washington Street and in other
areas above the slides were evacuated.
As Boundary County Road and Bridge, Bonners
Ferry and Idaho Transportation Department road
crews worked to stabilize the hillside and clear
the slide, police officers and sheriffs deputies
worked to divert traffic, but every attempt was
stymied; Mirror Lake Road by flooding, Lion's
Den Road by a slide.
Commercial vehicles were advised to bypass
Boundary County.
At about 2:46 p.m., another mudslide on Highway
95, this one on Peterson Hill, forced another
shutdown, and at 3:26 p.m. Deep Creek Loop was
shut down due to flooding.
Boundary County Emergency Management was
activated and a command post established in the
Kootenai River Inn Parking lot to help
coordinate the many agencies, Sheriff's Office,
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Bonners Ferry
Police, Idaho Transportation Department,
Boundary County Road and Bridge, Bonners Ferry
Street Department, fire departments county wide,
Search and Dive Rescue and more that responded.
While road problems persist and with additional
reports of flooding and mudslides continuing to
trickle in, ITD officials that traffic will
begin alternating via one lane at around 5 p.m.
The emergency declaration paves the way for the
county to seek state and federal assistance in
recovering from the damages that Mother Nature
seems intent on continuing to inflict for at
least a little longer; the good news is that
Sunday and Monday are expected to be relatively
dry. |
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