Third Slide Knocks Out Power

Cape Horn residents may be feeling their road is cursed.

On Thursday afternoon, a human-triggered slide on Cape Horn Road caused the already isolated area to lose power and phone lines. No one was injured. By 8:30 p.m., power was restored. Phone lines were expected to be restored this morning, said Marion Blackwell, Timberlake fire chief.

The road has been closed by two major rock slides - one in January and one this month.

Crews were continuing to clean up those slides on Thursday. Workers inadvertently triggered some rocks, which tumbled across Cape Horn Road, down the embankment and into power and phone lines, knocking them down, Blackwell said.

The exact cause won’t be known until investigators can talk with the workers, Blackwell said. For safety reasons, crews have been working from the top of the slide.

Kootenai County issued a safety advisory after the slide and authorities established a command post at the Cape Horn Marina for emergency assistance until phones are back up.

Residents are being ferried by boat around the slide to reach about 75 homes along Lake Pend Oreille.