VANCOUVER, Wash. — Breaching the Condit Dam has drastically altered the landscape for cabin owners on what used to be Northwestern Lake near White Salmon.
The reservoir is now a muddy canyon, and the White Salmon River is continuing to carve channels through the sediment.
The Columbian reported that the utility that owns the dam, Portland, Ore.-based PacifiCorp, is monitoring dozens of cabins. So far, none have been destroyed by the erosion.
A century of sediment is being washed away, following the explosion in October that blew a hole in the 125-foot-high dam. It’s about 65 miles east of Vancouver and three miles upstream from the Columbia River.
Demolition work will resume in the spring to restore the White Salmon River as fish habitat.
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