A highway west of Klamath Falls remained closed Thursday, a day after an earthen dike holding back Upper Klamath Lake dissolved, flooding more than 2,000 acres of farmland and threatening to wash out the road.
The Geary Dike failed about 4 p.m. Wednesday, sending water rushing onto former marshland about eight miles northwest of Klamath Falls near the lake's southwestern shore.
Farmers planting grass seed in the area were evacuated. Nobody was injured and no structures damaged, though some farm equipment was abandoned to the rushing water, said Klamath County Sheriff Tim Evinger.
By Thursday afternoon, the water was 26 feet deep at the breach, which had grown to 300 feet wide. But the floodwaters had stabilized, leaving a new arm of Upper Klamath Lake several feet deep covering the patchwork of private farmland, Evinger said.
Water is also covering parts of the golf course at Running Y Resort.
Meanwhile, engineers from the Oregon Department of Transportation are inspecting Oregon 140, which connects Klamath Falls and Medford.
"There's significant water still on the road, so they've got to wait for the water to drain before they fully assess the damage," said ODOT spokesman Dave Thompson.
The mop-up follows a tense afternoon, evening and early morning of harried activity that began when workers from PacifiCorp, the utility company that maintains the privately owned dike, noticed cracks and seeping around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. Soon the trickle grew into a flood.
PacifiCorp, working with ODOT, the sheriff's office and Running Y representatives, worked overnight to reinforce a secondary dike beyond the highway to prevent further flooding.
"PacifiCorp really stepped up, brought in resources and had an army of dump trucks in here shoring up the dike," Evinger said.
The Klamath County Board of Commissioners told the governor's office it may request disaster aid.
It's not known yet how much repairs to the dike or the roadway will cost and who will pay to rebuild the dike.
"Were going to continue to work with Running Y ranch, Oregon Department of Transportation and the property owners to figure out what our next steps are," said Dave Kvamme, spokesman for PacifiCorp.
Matthew Preusch: 541-382-2006; preusch@bendbroadband.com
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