Weather eases slide concerns

SAGLE — Talache Beach Road was reopened Monday to one lane of traffic after a landslide upended one home and threatened a half-dozen other homes.”

“We’ve restored power to that location. Road & Bridge has reopened the road, but we encourage only local traffic because repairs have to be made,” said Bob Howard, director of Emergency Management for the county.

Soaking rains saturated the hillside above the homes on Saturday, causing it to slip and knock a summer residence off its footings.

Only one of the homes threatened by the slide was occupied by a year-round resident, according to Selkirk Fire Rescue & EMS Chief Ron Stocking.

“Only one was a full-timer. He was notified he could go back in,” said Stocking.

Stocking said that only one of the threatened residences appeared to have been affected by the slide.

“I didn’t see any (obvious damage to other dwellings), but that doesn’t mean they weren’t affected from the slide,” said Stocking.

Meanwhile, another trouble spot has opened up on Butler Creek Road in Sagle.

“We still have some folks that are isolated that we’re still trying to get assistance for,” said Howard.

Bonner County declared a state of emergency last week, although the declaration waves no wand to fix slide troubles, particularly as they relate to roads. Complicating the Butler Creek impasse is the fact that it’s a U.S. Forest Service Road which the county has no jurisdiction over.

The declaration could free up funding for uninsured homes impacted by landslides.

“We’re trying to collect that data to see if we meet that threshold,” Howard said.

Problems have also erupted on Oliver and Irish roads, although residents were granted something of a reprieve because of drier weather on Sunday and Monday.

“The weather’s been good to us , but we’ve still got a week of rain so we’re still watching everything,” Howard said.