Dike fails near Geary Canal Bridge
Parts of Highway 140 closed

	H&N photo by John Stoops Water gushes out onto the former marshland now used for farming, after about 300 feet of dike near the Gary Canal Bridge burst open.

June 8, 2006, Herald and News by Laura McVIicker and Ty Beaver

Authorities toiled through the night and into the morning to block Upper Klamath Lake flood waters from crossing Highway 140 west of the Running Y Ranch Resort Wednesday after a dike cracked and failed.

As of late Wednesday, flood waters were threatening to overtake a portion of Highway 140. Part of the highway was closed and dump trucks were brought in by Pacific Power to form a makeshift 1,000-foot long dike on the roadside consisting of rock and dirt, which was two feet higher than the asphalt, said Randy Bednar, assistant district manager of the state's Department of Transportation in Klamath Falls.

The highway, a main route from Klamath Falls to Lake of the Woods and Medford, was protected from lake waters by the failed dike near the Geary Canal Bridge. If floodwaters cross the highway, only one more dike remains between the flood waters and Running Y Ranch Resort property, authorities said.

As of press time, authorities halted work building the makeshift dike to concentrate on reinforcing the second dike after water softened the highway.

Officials feared a foot of water could overtake the highway after the flood waters from the lake created a four-foot reservoir in 2,000 acres of farmland cradling Upper Klamath Lake.

Officials' immediate goal was protecting the highway. They sealed off a 15-mile strip Wednesday evening, starting at the Highway 140-Highway 66 junction to close the route to Rocky Point. The portion of the highway will open after authorities construct the makeshift dike and get flood waters under control. Dave Kvamme, spokesman for Pacific Power, said officials' next goal would be to repair the original dike after flood waters in the farmland equalize with the lake.