Roads close and residents evacuate as crews work to cleanup mudslide in Idaho panhandle
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IDAHO COUNTY – A 70-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 95 between New Meadows and Grangeville is closed Saturday due to a large mudslide.
Some residents are being evacuated.
Idaho State Police report the highway is blocked in multiple places between mileposts 197 and 205. Traffic is being diverted at mileposts 161 and 234.
There are also downed power lines in the area, according to a road report from Idaho Transporation Department.
“Late last night (Friday) around 10:30 p.m. ITD had to close the road because Fiddle Creek jumped its banks and made a new channel, taking a lot of debris and power lines with it,” Megan Sausser of ITD told Idaho County Free Press. “Idaho County Light and Power was on scene to handle the power lines, after which ITD crews were able to start working on the debris. It’s about 200 feet long and 4 feet deep.”
Cleanup is in progress but the amount of mud and water on the road makes it a slow process.
Estimates on when the road will reopen are unknown. Meanwhile, ISP is asking you to avoid the area. If you were planning on traveling through that area anytime soon, find an alternate route.
Idaho County Sheriff’s Office, along with ISP and ITD are there directing traffic and working to cleanup the spill.
The latest road conditions are available on ITD’s 511 app.
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