Emergency crews and Oregon Department of Transportation personnel responded to the landslide on Wednesday. It brought down boulders the size of houses. ODOT expected the road to be closed until Saturday at the very least. - World Photo by Jolene Guzman

Contractors are working to clear a landslide of house-sized boulders that came crashing down on state Highway 38 near milepost 27 Tuesday night, closing a section between Elkton and Reedsport.

No vehicles were caught in the slide, which was a messy combination of several large boulders, smaller rocks, trees and soil from the cliff above the road.

The highway will remain closed until at least Saturday, an Oregon Department of Transportation press release said. Residential traffic will be allowed through on either side of the slide.

Numerous calls reporting the slide started coming in a little after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, according the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office log. Elkton, Reedsport and Scottsburg volunteer fire personnel were first on the scene and helped set up roadblocks on both sides of the enormous slide, ODOT North Douglas County Maintenance Manager Allen Deaton said Wednesday morning.

ODOT personnel and several contractors were among those assessing the scene Wednesday.

“There are multiple contractors looking at the slide now,” Deaton said.

A contractor will start clearing the highway once ODOT has awarded the bid on the job.

Flaggers stopped traffic heading east along Highway 38 in Reedsport and Wells Creek to warn drivers of the closures. Signs also were posted on both sides of the slide.

“We just ask the public to respect our closures,” Deaton said. “Unless you have a boat, you are not getting around.”

The massive slide took out power lines as it crashed onto the road.

Douglas Electric Cooperative spokesman Todd Munsey wrote in an e-mail Wednesday that a small number of customers could be left without power for a short time, but should be back up later that same day.

Reliance Connects, which provides telephone service in Elkton, reported no service interruptions due to the slide. Reliance crews inspecting lines around the site Wednesday found that the slide just missed the line.