Work begins Friday morning to repair a major washout on Eagle Bay Road along Shuswap Lake north of Salmon Arm that occurred late Thursday afternoon.
It’s believed a surge of water let loose from a holding pond into a creek, overwhelming a culvert, and undermining the road bed.
Shuswap Emergency Program Information Officer, Ryan Nitchie, says access has been cut off to about 300 properties east of the washout but the vast majority of those are summer season occupied.
Crews will drain the remainder of the pond and shore up the creek banks with large rocks before building a one-lane detour route.
Nitchie says most people stranded by the washout are content to wait until the detour road is built but some have been using boats to get around the washout.
The Shuswap Emergency Program is setting up a comfort centre at the Eagle Bay Community Hall for affected residents.
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