Homestead Road tunnel rockslide may have been triggered by earthquake

Published 11:00 am Saturday, March 2, 2024

BAKER CITY — An earthquake near Cascade, Idaho, on Monday, Feb. 26, is the most likely culprit in a rockslide inside the tunnel on the Homestead Road in far eastern Baker County that closed the tunnel.

Workers for Idaho Power Co. have created a detour around the tunnel for residents in the Oxbow and Homestead areas about 70 miles east of Baker City.

The detour is via a road more typically frequented by utility trucks, said Brad Bowlin, a communications specialist for Idaho Power.

“You don’t want to take your Prius on it,” Bowlin said. “Some recent snowfall made it kind of slick, but we put some rock down on it for the residences down there, there’s a few people in that area.”

Bowlin said a geotechnical engineer is slated to inspect the tunnel on Thursday, Feb. 29.

“The tunnel itself is intact, just some rocks fell and are blocking the road,” he said.

The tunnel is about a mile north of Oxbow.

The magnitude 4.9 quake was felt by residents in the Halfway and Richland areas west of Oxbow. Bowlin said the quake is the most likely cause of the rockfall inside the tunnel.

“We don’t want anyone in there until we assess it for safety, not going to do anything like moving rocks until it’s safe,” he said. “It’s an inconvenience for those living there, but right now there’s not a lot of recreational traffic.

“The tunnel is downstream of the boat ramp, so you can still put your boat in the water there,” Bowlin said.