Highway 105 will remain closed for at least another 24 hours, said Red Lake Mayor Fred Mota.
"The difficulty the MTO are sharing is the high water flow traveling under the bridge. They're anticipating the water levels will drop, but they are calling for rain later this evening, which could add additional problems for the water flow."
"Once they get the water to a certain level, they'll be able to go in and begin construction to repair the bridge, and at this time they're stating 24 hours minimum the road will be closed," stated Mayor Mota.
A washout approximately 15 kilometres south of Red Lake, at Caribou Falls, has cut the community of roughly 4,000 people off from the rest of the region.
The road surface completely washed out at approximately noon today (Saturday, May 7, 2022) and it is understood that a logging road, which could serve as an alternate route has also washed away.
"I'm assured by the MTO, as soon as those water levels drop under that bridge, they'll be going to work right away and at least get one lane up and hopefully both within a matter of time," Mayor Mota noted.
Mayor Mota added at this time, it's unclear how many Red Lake residents are stranded outside of the community.
Red Lake city staff are meeting with provincial staff today to determine if a State of Emergency needs to be issued.
Mayor Mota noted that city staff have been in contact with the Red Lake Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital and the city's emergency management group and have contingencies in place should an emergency arise in the municipality of Red Lake before the highway reopens.