A massive debris slide has closed the road between Enderby and Mabel Lake in the north Okanagan.
The tangle of huge trees roared down Cooke Creek at about 6 a-m Friday, wiping out a bridge and about 100 metres of road bed.
Four power poles were also swept away, leaving about 700 properties without electricity.
And with the bridge gone, there are potentially several hundred residents on the Mabel Lake side of Cooke Creek who can’t leave the area by vehicle.
Repairing the road and installing a temporary bridge is expected to take several days.
Leigh Pearson with Vernon Search and Rescue says a helicopter flyover revealed the possible cause of the debris flow.
“There’s a lake up there and it appears it was blocked by a beaver dam or ice or a combination thereof and the water built up to a point it couldn’t hold it anymore and it let go.”
Pearson adds the Kingfisher Interpretive Center near the mouth of Cooke Creek was damaged.
“It’s a mess. The debris flow blew out the front door and window and it’s full of mud and trees.”
There are no reports of injuries
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