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UPDATE: Coquihalla reopens south of Merritt, Hwy 1 open near Chase; several closures still in place from mudslides

Colton Davies
Aug 17, 2021 | 9:28 AM


UPDATE: Coquihalla reopens south of Merritt, Hwy 1 open near Chase; several closures still in place from mudslides

Smoky skies above the Coquihalla Highway south of Merritt on August 17, 2021. (Photo: Twitter: TranBC)

UPDATE: 12:15 p.m.

The Coquihalla Highway has reopened between Hope and Merritt after being closed for almost two full days, because of the July Mountain wildfire.

DriveBC announced the reopening at noon, but it is maintaining a travel advisory because of smoke and fire activity. It says people should only use the highway for essential travel today, and it says no facilities are open, off-ramps are closed and no stopping is allowed. It also says to watch for road crews, wildlife and debris.

The July Mountain fire grew substantially on the weekend with gusting winds and hot and dry weather, which forced the freeway to be closed on Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Highway 1 has reopened just west of Chase after a serious accident this morning.

The crash east of Kamloops happened just after 5 a.m. about seven kilometres west of Chase. Cpl. Mike Halskov with BC Highway Patrol said it involved a semi-truck and a car. He said Chase RCMP responded to the scene and the driver of the car had serious injuries and was being taken to hospital; he did not have an update on the status of that person.

Meanwhile, a mudslide was reported about 15 kilometres north of Lytton Monday night, across the Trans-Canada Highway. That highway is now shut down between Cache Creek and Lytton, while the highway is also closed northbound from Hope to Lytton, according to DriveBC.

A mudslide has also closed Highway 12 between Lytton and Lillooet. There’s no estimated reopening time for any of those highway sections impacted by slides.

Meanwhile, several other highway closures remain in place because of area wildfires Highway 97D is closed from Lac Le Jeune to Logan Lake, and Highway 97C is closed from Logan Lake south to Mamette Lake. Highway 8 is also closed between Merritt and to 15 km east of Spences Bridge.

As always, drivers are told to check drivebc.ca before heading out on the roads for long-distance travel.

Watch this story for updates today should highway closures change in the Kamloops area.