NEAR TIMBER, Ore. - A road connecting Vernonia to Highway 26 was closed by a large landslide Saturday afternoon.

Timber Road is not a heavily traveled road and officials said no homes or vehicles were involved with the slide. The road had been down to one lane in places due to previous small landslides.

The slide is located approximately 6 miles from Highway 47 near Vernonia and about 2 miles from Highway 26 at Timber Junction.

The slide that took place Saturday covered the road completely for about 100 feet and also slid down into the Nehalem River.

Crews did not immediately begin clearing the debris away due to continued instability close to the slide. Officials continued to assess the area around the slide to see if more earth was getting ready to move.

Crews from Columbia and Washington counties will work to remove the debris once the all-clear is given by geologists.

The area is popular with fossil hunters, but geologists say the topsoil laying on fossil-laden shell rock can quickly become unstable after heavy rain or snow and cause landslides.

Timber Road is at a high enough elevation that snow is still visible along the shoulder.