Landslide blocking Chilcotin River, RCMP expediting evacuation order

UPDATE: 6:49 p.m.

The province has issued an emergency alert advising people to leave stretches of the Chilcotin River and the Fraser River due to concerns over sudden possible flooding and debris flow.

“People and boaters are asked to immediately leave the following areas: anywhere on the rivers or along the banks of the Chilcotin River from Hanceville to the Fraser River, and the Fraser River from the Chilcotin River to Hope,” the alert reads.

“Sudden potential flooding and debris flow in and around the Chilcotin and Fraser Rivers poses a threat to human life.”

A #BC Emergency Alert has been issued by the Province of BC. People & boaters are asked to leave the following areas IMMEDIATELY: - Banks of Chilcotin River from Hanceville to Fraser River, - Banks of the Fraser River from Chilcotin River to #HopeBC More info:…

— Emergency Info BC (@EmergencyInfoBC) August 1, 2024

A landslide happened over Tuesday night on the Chilcotin River near Farwell Canyon, southeast of Williams Lake. The Cariboo Regional District has issued an evacuation order due to flooding caused by the landslide.

On Wednesday afternoon, the BC River Forecast Centre issued a flood warning, a flood watch and a high streamflow advisory for stretches of the Chilcotin and Fraser Rivers.

The forecast centre warned that the landslide has dammed the Chilcotin River and is creating an upstream lake.

“The eventual overtopping of the landslide material may lead to sudden erosion of the debris and catastrophic failure of the landslide dam. This could potentially cause an outburst flood downstream of the landslide,” said a statement from the river forecast centre.

DriveBC said the Lytton Ferry will be out of service starting Wednesday at 10 p.m. due to the risk of high water and debris.

The Big Bar Ferry has also been closed.

??#LyttonFerry - the vessel will be out of service in both directions starting at 10:00pm due to high water and debris.#Lytton ??https://t.co/e2Zaa6uuxD pic.twitter.com/6Oam94a3dI

— DriveBC (@DriveBC) August 1, 2024

UPDATE: 5:47 p.m.

The BC River Forecast Centre has issued a series of advisories Wednesday, warning that a landslide blocking the Chilcotin River has caused an upstream lake to form — water which could eventually erode through the debris, causing a surge through the Fraser River to Hope.

The landslide happened over Tuesday night on the Chilcotin River near Farwell Canyon, southeast of Williams Lake. The Cariboo Regional District issued an evacuation order due to flooding caused by the landslide.

On Wednesday afternoon, the BC River Forecast Centre issued a flood warning for the Chilcotin River, upstream of the landslide.

A flood watch has been issued for the Chilcotin River downstream of the landslide, and for the Fraser River from the Chilcotin confluence to Hope. A high streamflow advisory has been issued for the Fraser River, downstream of Hope.

“This landslide has dammed the river and is creating a lake currently extending several kilometres upstream. Higher water levels are expected along the Chilcotin River upstream of the dam,” The BC River Forecast Centre said in a statement.

The statement said before the landslide, river flow had been measured at about 200 cubic metres per second, but the landslide has caused a near-total blockage and the “abrupt cessation of flow.” A corresponding decrease in flow has been observed in the Fraser River, downstream of the Chilcotin-Fraser confluence.

“The eventual overtopping of the landslide material may lead to sudden erosion of the debris and catastrophic failure of the landslide dam. This could potentially cause an outburst flood downstream of the landslide,” the statement said.

“In this scenario, a surge of water would rapidly move down the Chilcotin River and into the Fraser River. Water levels could increase extremely quickly along the Chilcotin River, as well as in the Fraser River immediately below the confluence.”

The BC River Forecast Centre noted if there is a catastrophic failure of the dam, a flood surge could travel from the Chilcotin River to Hope within a day.

A flood wave would be less severe downstream, below the Fraser Canyon — but the river forecast centre noted “substantial increases” in river flow might extend all the way through the Lower Mainland to the mouth of the river.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District said there have been some precautionary ferry closures on the Fraser River in response to the landslide.

The Big Bar Ferry is closed, and the Lytton Ferry is expected to be closed by 10 p.m. Wednesday. More information can be found by checking DriveBC.

We have been informed by @TranBC about precautionary ferry closures on the Fraser River in response to the Chilcotin River landslide.

The Big Bar Ferry is now closed, and the Lytton Ferry is expected to be closed July 31, 2024 @ 10pm.

For more info visit @DriveBC website. pic.twitter.com/b3dReumcsD

— TNRD (@TNRD) July 31, 2024

UPDATE 3:15 p.m.

A man who was camping along the Chilcotin River in British Columbia's central Interior woke up to the sound of a landslide and ran away as the ground moved beneath his feet.

Debra Bortolussi with Central Cariboo Search and Rescue says the man told them he had set up camp with his dog during a rafting trip along the river, when he heard sounds of the slide at around midnight and started running away.

Bortolussi says it "seems like a miracle" that he wasn't caught in the slide as he ran away over moving debris, which then consumed his camp and rafting gear.

She says the man's dog is missing, but rescuers are hopeful they might find it because he had yelled at the dog to follow him during the escape.

The landslide is blocking the river, and the Cariboo Regional District has issued evacuation orders spanning 107 kilometres along the river due to "immediate danger to life and safety" caused by flooding as the waterway backs up.

The district has also declared a state of local emergency as it tells residents to gather their family and take anyone else who may need help to get out.

Bortolussi says the man sustained lower-body injuries during his escape, and he's in stable condition after a rescue operation involving a helicopter.

"His tent, his raft, everything was taken out by the landslide itself," she said in an interview on Wednesday. "It directly came down overtop of where he was."

The man spent the night atop the slide area, where Bortolussi says a local resident spotted him and made the call to emergency crews at about 8 a.m. Wednesday.

The regional district says people in the areas ordered evacuated should take available routes north to Highway 20 and east to Williams Lake.

The nearby Tsilhqot'in First Nation says in a statement on its Facebook page that it has activated its emergency operations centre to help those who need it.

The Canadian Press

UPDATE 1:55 p.m.

The Cariboo Regional District has updated an evacuation order issued in the wake of a landslide that is blocking the Chilcotin River.

The order covers 26 parcels of land in the Chilcotin River Landslide Area #2 and includes an area of 3,481 hectares.

The CRD says there is immediate danger to life safety due to flooding caused by the landslide. Members of the RCMP and other groups will be expediting the evacuation order.

Affected residents are being told to take all available routes north to Highway 20 and then east to Williams Lake. They can call the Emergency Service Centre (ESS) at 1-250-267-4861 to arrange Emergency Support Services.

UPDATE 1:37 p.m.

An injured man has been rescued from near the scene of a landslide on the Chilcotin River.

Central Cariboo Search and Rescue posted an update at 1:00 p.m. to say the man was in stable condition. He was brought out of the area with the assistance of Frontline Helicopters and handed over to the care of BC Emergency Health Services.

Photos posted to the search and rescue group’s Facebook page shows the blockage on the river and muddy water and debris filling the basin.

CCSR urged everyone to stay clear of the affected area.

UPDATE 12:58 p.m.

The Cariboo Regional District has issued an evacuation order due to flooding caused by the landslide on the Chilcotin River.

The order stretches along both sides of the river from the confluence with the Fraser River to past Big Creek Ecological Reserve.

Anyone in the area is being told to leave immediately. Police may be deployed to help expedite the evacuation.

#EvacuationORDER issued for Chilcotin River Landslide area. Farwell Canyon included in order area.

Interactive map: https://t.co/cgmxp9ixjB Visit https://t.co/PHkLq7y83g for further information#CaribooFloods #BCFloods @EmergencyInfoBC pic.twitter.com/DMvvf5TD9V

— CRD (@CaribooRD) July 31, 2024

Those in the evacuation order zone should:

• • Gather family; take a neighbour or someone who needs help and don’t use more vehicles than necessary
• • Take pets in pet kennels or on leash.
• • Take critical items (medicine, purse, wallet, and keys) only if they are immediately
• available.
• • Close all windows and doors; Close gates (latch) but do not lock.
• • Do not shut off your natural gas. For more information visit www.fortisbc.com/.
• • Do not use the telephone unless you need emergency service.

Evacuees can receive Emergency Support Services by self-registering using the Evacuee

Registration & Assistance (ERA) tool at https://ess.gov.bc.ca/, (if not already done), or call 250-267-4861. ESS will be provided only to those whose primary residence is under evacuation order.

The regional district says residents who choose not to evacuate should understand they stay at their own risk and that responders may not be able to come to their rescue if it is unsafe to do so.

ORIGINAL 11:55 a.m.

The Tsilhqot’in National Government has activated its emergency operations centre after a landslide has hit the Chilcotin River.

A post by the First Nation says it has activated its EOC at level one while it investigates the situation. Reports suggest the river is almost entirely blocked at Nagwentled (Farwell Canyon), southwest of Williams Lake.

People are being advised to stay away from the Chilcotin River due to the danger of unpredictable water flow.

One person was said to have been injured by the slide that apparently happened overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Central Cariboo Search and Rescue says its Land Search and Rescue team, with assistance from Frontline Helicopters, is responding to an injured individual and landslide west of Williams Lake.

The Chilcotin is a tributary of the Fraser River. In 2018, a massive landslide temporarily blocked the Fraser – Canada’s most productive salmon-bearing watershed – presenting a barrier to upstream salmon migration in 2019 and 2020. There were concerns in 2019 that flooding on the Chilcotin could further aggravate that situation.

One elder commented on the Tsilhqot’in National Government post to say this was the third time the Chilcotin had been blocked by a landslide in her lifetime.