Mudslide knocks out power
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POLSON — A mudslide at mile marker 10.5, about half a mile south of Blue Bay, partially blocked the northbound lane of Highway 35 on June 22 but did not injure any motorists or pedestrians and did not close the highway.
Montana Department of Transportation Public Information Officer Lori Ryan said the slide dumped about 100 yards of dirt, rocks and vegetation on the highway, but MDOT considered the event a relatively small slide and doesn’t expect more slide activity in the area.
The initial call to Lake County Dispatch at 12:31 p.m. was a report of a tree falling on a power line, according to Steve Stanley, director of Lake County Office of Emergency Management. Phone lines were also impacted, Stanley said.
Mission Valley Power supervisor on call, Craig Morigeau, said two trees tangled in the power line after tipping over in the water-soaked ground, causing the slide and triggering a power outage. From the Finley Point substation on out Hwy. 35, Morigeau said 204 customers lost power for about four hours.
Stanley commended the MVP crew and said, “they just did a stellar job” removing the downed trees and a couple more dangerous trees.
After being notified of the slide about 2:30 p.m., MDOT brought in a front loader and dump truck from Ferndale and two additional dump trucks from Rollins and Kalispell to haul away the mud.
MDOT cleared the area at about 7:30 p.m., Stanley said, although cleanup will continue on June 23.
