Mudslide uncovers vintage dynamite

BONNERS FERRY — Repeated heavy rains caused two more mudslides in Boundary County, one shutting down U.S. Highway 95 and another exposing two cases of vintage dynamite.

Just shortly after 2 p.m. on Friday, April 7, the already precarious hillside on U.S. Highway 95 MP 498, near Mountain Meadows Rd., once again broke loose and covered both lanes of traffic with mud, debris, and trees. Idaho Department of Transportation was on scene, working diligently to clear the slide. Although crews had hoped to have the highway cleared by sundown, the hillside was too unstable. When the roadway was clear, they let ten cars through at a time, reevaluating the situation between each group.

According to Boundary County Emergency Manager, Michael Meier, for safety reasons the highway will remain open with only one lane of traffic flow. His concern is for the health and welfare of the people driving through the area.

“That area is just too unstable,” Meier said.

Two days following the highway incident, a slide on Myrtle Creek Road, Forest Service Road No. 633, revealed a long buried surprise. Sunday, April 9, a citizen discovered two cases of vintage dynamite approximately 8 to 10 feet below the road in a washout.

The Spokane Bomb Squad was called in and were assisted by Forest Service Law Enforcement Officers, Boundary County Sheriff’s Office, and the Boundary County Office of Emergency Management. The scene was under control of the Sheriff’s Office and a deputy maintained the scene until Forest Service Incident Commander Mark Gray took ownership.

The dynamite is believed to be vintage 1974, according to Meier. It most likely was left behind when they were originally building the road, he surmised. With dynamite so inexpensive during that era, it was often buried and left behind rather than to risk transporting it. Meier described the 50/50 dynamite as, “Pretty potent.”

Although the explosives are now clear, people are asked to stay out of the area for 72 hours as the roads are very soft and Myrtle Creek Road has a history of washouts and an unstable roadbed.

For more information regarding the Myrtle Creek Road area, please contact: Shoshana Cooper, Idaho Panhandle National Forests’ Public Affairs Officer at 208-765-7211.