Emergency alerts issued after Chilcotin River overflows landslide site
Posted August 5, 2024 7:16 am.
Last Updated August 5, 2024 1:15 pm.
Water from the Chilcotin River has started to overflow the site of a landslide near Farwell Canyon, southwest of Williams Lake.
A video shared by Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Nathan Cullen just after 10 a.m. Monday shows water coming from the slide site, with water pouring through to the other side of the blockage that was caused on July 30.
“We’re seeing the first images from moments ago of water getting through the slide,” Cullen wrote.
A BC Emergency Alert is in place for the the Chilcotin River from Hanceville to the Fraser River, as well as the Fraser River from the Chilcotin River to the Gang Ranch Road bridge.
“People in the area MUST EVACUATE NOW. Flooding and debris flow in and around the Chilcotin & Fraser Rivers poses a threat to human life,” Emergency Info BC said around 10:45 a.m.
The province says an alert was also sent to cellphones, radios, and tvs to advise people in the area or along the water to leave “immediately due to flooding and debris.”
“People unable to evacuate themselves should call 911,” the province said in a news release Monday.
Locals are being warned that even if water levels in an area seem similar to those during spring flooding, “the water will react differently, with greater momentum and force, than a gradual increase in water levels.”
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!“Teams are on site assessing the movement of the landslide and the Province will provide a further update later today,” the government explained.
The Tsilhqot’in National Government is also urging people to stay away from the river and its banks, noting “as the water flows out of the lake that has formed, the banks of the river that were submerged may slump in.”
“We are watching the salmon closely. Some Chinook are waiting at Big Creek for the Tŝilhqox to start flowing again,” the Tsilhqot’in added.
Expanded evacuation orders, alerts
Evacuation orders in the Cariboo expanded as water in the backed-up Chilcotin continued to raise concerns Sunday into Monday.
“Expanded evacuation orders relating to the Chilcotin landslide have been issued to include areas around the Fraser River confluence downstream to the Churn Creek Bridge,” Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Bowinn Ma wrote on X Sunday.
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District was also forced to issue an evacuation alert for some properties adjacent to the Fraser River, on the Bonaparte Plateau.
The alert covers four properties to start, with the TNRD saying the landslide into the Chilcotin River “means those within 300m of the boundaries charted should be prepared to [evacuate] if necessary.”
Cullen noted on Monday that an evacuation order issued by the Cariboo Regional District remains in place, while two new orders were issued overnight.
On Sunday, the BC River Forecast Centre upgraded an advisory to a flood warning for the Chilcotin River downstream of the landslide near Farwell Canyon.
A warning for the Chilcotin River upstream of the landslide near Farwell Canyon, and a flood watch for the Fraser River from the Chilcotin River confluence downstream to Hope remain in place.
According to an earlier update from Cullen, water levels continued to rise overnight. However, he noted just after 8 a.m. that “the water trapped behind the natural dam has not yet reached the top.”
B.C.’s emergency management ministry was initially expecting water to start moving overnight Sunday, over the top of the massive landslide that continues to block the river, south of Williams Lake.
Area modelling suggested water from a newly created lake would start moving overtop of the landslide site by early Monday and enter the riverbed below the slide area.
Levels could reach 21 meters at Farwell Canyon and 12 meters where it meets the Fraser River.
The province says it is working with local First Nations and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada to mitigate potential impacts to spawning salmon and other species.
