Small slide covers road

UPDATE 1:30 P.M.

Road maintenance crews were called to Greenhow Road near Swan Lake after an earth embankment gave way Friday.

The water-soaked slope collapsed about noon, covering one lane with large rocks and mud.

A front-end loader was quickly on the scene to move the debris to the side of the road and use some of the fallen rocks to create a barrier that directed gushing, muddy water into a ditch.

However, water still poured down the road and across nearby Highway 97.

Several dumptruck loads of debris were hauled away, and crews said they were going to bring in sandbags to keep the water off the road.

Keith Law has been living on the property directly above the slide since 1998 and said this is the first time he has seen so much water.

“This has never happened before,” he said while watching crews clean up the mess.

Law pointed to a blocked culvert at the edge of his property as the culprit. A large pool of water collected at culvert and then spilled over the top, down the embankment and across the road.

Law said Old McDonald Creek used to flow above his property, and he suspects water from heavy rains was coming down the normally dry creek bed.

“That creek hasn't run for years,” he said. 

ORIGINAL: 12:30 p.m.

Works crews are responding to a small landslide north of Vernon, near Swan Lake.

The washout Friday saw rocks and mud spill across Greenhow Road, near the intersection of Pleasant Valley Road and the Castle at Swan Lake hotel.

Castanet has a reporter at the scene and will update with more information.