Work continues to restore landlines and to fully reopen Mabel lake Road.
(CHARLOTTE HELSTON / iNFOnews.ca)
May 06, 2014 - 2:22 PM
ENDERBY - Despite a minor setback, Telus hopes to get landlines restored in a small community just east of Enderby by the end of the day.
Landlines went dead in the Kingfisher area, roughly 25 kilometers from Enderby, last Friday following a massive landslide that washed out sections of Mabel Lake Road, a bridge and hydro poles.
Power was back on Saturday, and Mabel Lake Road reopened to single lane alternating traffic, but residents are still waiting for landline service to return. The area has no cell service.
Telus spokesperson Shawn Hall says crews are on site doing everything they can to restore service.
“We were able to get in and start repairs yesterday, but unfortunately, a vehicle on the road hit one of the replacement (hydro) poles and tilted it off so the hydro lines came down. That’s delayed us somewhat,” Hall says.
The goal is to reestablish service by the end of the day, Hall says.
Local resident Shawna Haak lives below the affected area and has had intermittent communication with a friend who lives beyond the washed out bridge, road and power lines.
“She quads up the mountain to where she gets cell service and texts me that they’re doing okay,” Haak says.
Haak’s own power went out on Friday, but it was back on that night. More of a concern for her family was the brown water emerging from the taps for days.
“It looked really dirty and left a sandy residue in the sink. We pull our water from the river, but normally our filtration system keeps up. This time of year the water is a bit muddier but not to that extent. That was definitely more than normal,” she says.
Their water has since cleared up, but it was bottled water only for several days after the flood hit.
Work continues to fully reopen Mabel Lake Road.
Brown, silty water poured out Shawna Haak's taps after a major flood near her home on Mabel Lake Road.
Image Credit: Michael Haak
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.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014