County staff told supervisors on Oct. 27 that a semi fire in the Mallard/Ballard area destroyed approximately 35 feet of asphalt in one lane and substantially damaged about 20 feet in the adjacent lane, and that both lanes will require patching.

Staff said crews can mill and pave the damaged area in a single daytime work period if the road is closed to traffic, but that the closure would disrupt traffic on Ballard, a heavily traveled route. "They say they can get a mill out there and a pavement crew out there and be done in one day if they can just close traffic," the staff member said. The alternative would be to employ flaggers and pilot cars and keep the road open; that approach could take three or more days to complete.

Staff estimated additional traffic-control costs for the multi-day option at roughly $3,000. The county has attempted to recover repair costs from at-fault vehicle insurers in prior incidents but reported no consistent success. "We've tried this before, and we've had two cars burn up on our roads, and I have yet to get an insurance company to actually pay us for the damages," the staff member said.

Staff said, if the full-closure plan is chosen and everything proceeds as planned, the road would be closed during the daytime and reopened at night; if problems arise the work could extend to a second daytime closure and a partial follow-up.

Board members asked staff to coordinate timing and public notice with other planned department closures and to place signage in advance once a repair date is confirmed. Staff committed to signage and advance notification and said they will provide a firm schedule when the contractor commits to a date.

No formal vote or motion was taken at the meeting; the board asked staff to return with a date and to proceed with the option that balances public convenience and the contractor'provided schedule.