Landslides north of Pemberton trigger evacuations
Posted September 20, 2015 10:19 pm.
Last Updated September 21, 2015 6:33 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
PEMBERTON (NEWS 1130) – Five properties have been evacuated north of Pemberton because of a couple of landslides.
The slides came down near the community of Birken. The evacuation order affects three cabins and two homes.
Ryan Wainright of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District says there has been some damage.
“We’ve had reports that one structure was impacted. We don’t have the details yet on what that structure was. It seems it was an unused cabin. There is impact on properties, for sure, because of the large amounts of debris that have come down.”
Some people have been stranded due to a road that’s been knocked out. Wainright says emergency social services are being provided for those people. He says it should be a couple of days before that road is usable again.
He says the weather is partially to blame.
“Especially coming after a long, hot, dry summer. The water that might normally be absorbed into the ground isn’t absorbed into the soil as easily. We see this situation with following hot summers like we just passed through.”
Meanwhile, seven campers had to be evacuated by helicopter today, after the Squamish River Forest Service Road got knocked out by debris flows.
The Mud and Terminal Creeks have been washed out.
Other campers have opted to stay in the area and wait until the road is re-opened, possibly on Monday.
The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District says five vehicles were lost because of the debris flows.
A flood warning has been issued for the Sea to Sky Corridor, specifically covering the Lillooet and Squamish Rivers.
