Canal breach washes out roadway south of Quincy
A breached canal washed out a roadway south of Quincy early Friday morning, closing down a portion of Frenchman Hills Road. It is unknown when the roadway will be reopened.
COURTESY PHOTO/GCSO
GEORGE — The failure of an irrigation canal early Friday morning washed away a portion of Frenchman Hills Road west of Dodson Road and forced county officials to close a stretch of the road, according to a post on the Grant County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
According to GCSO spokesperson Kyle Foreman, a little after 12 a.m. Friday morning, two portions of a canal operated by the Quincy Columbia Basin Irrigation District near Frenchman Hills Road W and Road E SW gave way.
“(The resulting flood of canal water) carved a wide path through land below the canal and washed away a portion of Frenchman Hills Road about two miles west of Dodson Road,” Foreman said.
The affected stretch of road is closed until further notice, Foreman added, with no estimate of when it will be reopened.
Foreman also said that Grant County Public Utility District crews headed to the scene to deal with a power pole that had been washed into the middle of Frenchman Hills Road.
“I didn’t physically see any other damage, but if any property owners sustained damage because of the flooding, should let the irrigation district know that,” Foreman said.
The GCSO reported that the cause of the canal failure “is under investigation by the irrigation district, but no criminal cause is suspected.”
Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com