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Chilcotin River expected to break through massive slide in next day or two

Paul James
Aug 1, 2024 | 11:25 AM


Chilcotin River expected to break through massive slide in next day or two

Photo of the landslide blocking the Chilcotin River/via Cariboo Regional District

Geotechnical engineers are now assessing a massive landslide area in the southern Cariboo which has completely blocked the Chilcotin River.

The massive slide came down just before midnight on Tuesday, blocking the river with a wall of sandy earth some 30 meters deep, creating an artificial dam which now has water pooling up behind it.

Cariboo Regional District Chair, Margo Wagner, says the expectation is the water will likely find its way through in the next 24 to 48 hours.

“It will be one of two ways. The water behind it will either rise enough that it will end up going over the top of the landslide, which remember is 30 meters deep,” noted Wagner. “Or there will be a small fissure develop in some soil, and water will start oozing through.”

A dozen properties in the area have been ordered out, with 13 people displaced to Williams Lake.

Wagner says it’s difficult to determine what may have set off the slide, but notes the area is somewhat unstable.

“We don’t have any specific geotechnical information, mainly because the area is unstable right now,” says Wagner. “However, we do know that this slide occurred on a burned out area of the Chilcotin river banks from the 2017 fires. Unfortunately, there is a lot of area that the trees are dead. They are still standing, but their root system is totally done, and they are not absorbing water, which is an issue, because you then have nothing to absorb any water that is in the ground, and so it’s all a sand based area, so that is the ground then possibly becomes unstable.

Wagner says she spoke with Emergency Preparedness Minister Bowinn Ma on Thursday night.

“There was some engineers that have flown the site, and the province was going to bring in special geotechnical engineers today, if they could get them up here today, and they would be the ones that would then assess the site,” said Wagner.

Wagner says there is one injury associated with the landslide.

“So currently we’re only aware of the one gentleman who was injured. He broke his leg. My understanding is that he is doing well. He was in stable condition when he arrived at Williams Lake Memorial Hospital. However, his dog is still missing, and there’s several posts on Facebook asking people to keep an eye out in the area for the dog, but we haven’t heard of any other injuries,” said Wagner.

She says trying to clear the slide is not an option they are considering.

“So at this point in time, the landslide still remains high risk. It’s not safe for first responders or equipment to be on or near this slide, let alone downstream of the slide area. The Ministry of Water, Lands and Resource Stewardship is coordinating the gathering of information about the slide, about its current condition and its overall stability. But we, as a part of our emergency management framework, and with the province of BC, prioritize responder safety first and foremost,” said Wagner.

Meanwhile, precautions are being taken down stream.

High Streamflow advisories have been issued for the Fraser River, with the Big Bar Ferry shut down, and the Lytton Ferry on alert.

“Please be advised the Lytton Ferry will be closed during nighttime hours due to potential debris flow,” said Yellowhead Road and Bridge, which operates the service.  “The Lytton Ferry will be closed nightly from 9:30pm-6:30am until further updated.”