NEWHALEM — The community of Diablo has been cut off since Saturday because of avalanche danger on Highway 20, state transportation officials said.

State Department of Transportation crews also are keeping an eye on 11 avalanche chutes on a five-mile stretch between the two small communities and they worry that unstable snow could slide onto the highway, said state DOE spokesman Dustin Terpening.

State crews closed between 1 mile east of Newhalem to just west of Diablo before 11 a.m. Saturday. The roadway, also called the North Cascades Highway, generally closes most winters about 7 miles east of Diablo, and that closure to Mazama is still in effect.

The state’s avalanche expert will assess the slope west of Diablo Wednesday. In the best possible scenario, the roadway could re-open Wednesday night, but in the worst case, it could be closed until after New Year’s Day, Terpening said.

Diablo is home to employees of Seattle City Light and the Diablo Learning Center, between 25 and 30 families, Terpening said. The closure isn’t unexpected. Last week, state crews closed the highway to all but local traffic. Last winter, the state closed the highway to remove five snow slides blocking the roadway.

One of the slides hit a state transportation truck, he said.

“It’s not worth taking the risk and putting anybody’s lives in danger,” Terpening said.

The state set up a hotline on the highway’s conditions. For information, call 360-707-5056 or log onto http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/northcascades.