Debris Flow — Lincoln, Washington

2017-04-02 to 2017-04-05 · near Miles, Lincoln, Washington

Event narrative

On April 2nd a hillside along the Porcupine Bay Road near the Porcupine Bay recreation area gave way and cut the road, cutting off access to the campground. Three days later the hillside was still moving. Extensive debris was washed into Lake Roosevelt during this slide. The road remained closed into the month of May and may be closed indefinitely with repair work not able to commence until soil conditions stabilize and careful analysis of further landslide hazard is complete.

Wider weather episode

Saturated soil conditions across northeast Washington caused by periodic heavy rain and melting snow during the month of March and into early April produced numerous debris flows and areas of small stream and field flooding. Travel in Spokane, Pend Oreille and Stevens Counties was disrupted by numerous road closures due to debris flows and flooding of roads during the first half of April. Many travel restrictions remained through the rest of the month with road crews unable to address the damage until soil conditions dried and stabilized.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (47.8937, -118.1759)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 692101. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.