Forest road north of Sandpoint reopens after flood damage

One of the Forest Service roads in North Idaho that was hammered by flooding in December is drivable again. 

The Idaho Panhandle National Forests announced in a social media post that the Forest Service Road 231 in the Pack River drainage north of Sandpoint had been cleared of debris and is now open.

The road was damaged when major flooding caused a slide that washed out a chunk of Forest Service Road 293, known as the Jeru Creek Road. Debris from the slide went downhill onto Road 231. Forest Service photos showed the road covered with downed trees, vegetation and mud. 

Through a Good Neighbor Authority agreement with the Idaho Department of Lands, crews cleared Road 231. Road 293 is still closed.

Closures remain on several other roads across North Idaho that suffered major damage in December, including Lightning Creek Road (Forest Service Road 419) just east of Sandpoint. 

In the Shoshone Creek drainage northeast of Coeur d’Alene, Forest Service Road 412 is still closed. Three roads in the East Fork Hayden Creek drainage are closed – Nos. 437, 1530 and 406. 

Farther south, a Forest Service Road 225 along Slate Creek in the St. Joe drainage is still closed.  

Patrick Lair, a Forest Service spokesman, said it isn’t clear when other roads might reopen.