UPDATE: Power back on and road open following Kingfisher landslide

ENDERBY – The roughly 200 people stranded by the landslide and washout on Mabel Lake Road in the Kingfisher area are no longer trapped on the east side of Cooke Creek.

The road between Enderby and Mabel Lake has reopened to single lane, alternating traffic on a scheduled basis, according to a media release from North Okanagan Emergency Management.

Over 700 B.C. Hydro customers in the Mabel Lake and Kingfisher areas also had their power restored after crews worked around the clock following Friday’s devastating landslide. The electricity started flowing again at 9 p.m. on Saturday.

About 300 feet of Mabel Lake Road, including a bridge, was swept away by a massive deluge of water, mud, trees and other debris on Friday.

The work continues to get the road permanently reopened, but no word on how long that will take.

Since the road is open and the power is back on, the North Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre is standing down.

Officials with the Regional District of the North Okanagan will be investigating the cause of the landslide and continue to help with recovery efforts in the community.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

– This story was updated at 4:32 p.m., Sunday, May 4, 2014 to add that road is now open on a limited basis.

– This story was updated at 10:45 a.m., Sunday, May 4, 2014 to add details about scheduled road reopening.