Three days after water and debris from a breached landslide powered down the Chilcotin and Fraser rivers in southwest British Columbia, officials say the surge is starting to settle.
Last Wednesday, a landslide blocked the Chilcotin River at Farwell Ranch, about 285 kilometres north of Vancouver, causing water, fallen trees and other debris to build into a rising lake behind the slide.
Water began spilling over the dam on Monday, and soon carved a channel through the landslide that sent a dangerous torrent rushing down the Chilcotin and into the Fraser River.
In an update Wednesday evening, the province said the pulse of water has “essentially dissipated” into the southern reaches of the Fraser River in B.C.’s Lower Mainland.
The surge of water that breached a massive landslide blocking the Chilcotin River is moving down the Fraser River into the Lower Mainland, bringing tons of debris with it.
CBC rode along with the captain of a water taxi business in Mission to take stock of the crowded waters.
The peak of the surge passed through Hope, B.C., on Tuesday evening, raising river levels by about 1.1 metres, according to the province. Peak flow passed through Mission, almost 100 kilometres downstream of Hope, on Wednesday morning.
The River Forecast Centre has rescinded all warnings, watches and advisories for the Fraser River.
A flood warning remains in place for the Chilcotin River upstream of the landslide, while a flood watch is still in effect downstream to the confluence with the Fraser.
While the water level in the lake behind the landslide has been stabilizing, there’s still a risk of additional landslides on the Chilcotin River from where the lake formed to where it meets the Fraser River, the province said.
The slopes of the river banks have been eroded by the flood that rushed by this week, making them steeper.
Jason Hwang from the Pacific Salmon Foundation says the landslide is a “major setback” for fish that have had to endure a lot in recent years, from a landslide at Big Bar to warming water caused by climate change.
While the Cariboo Regional District lifted evacuation orders and alerts for the area near Churn Creek, evacuation orders remain in place stretching from near Hanceville, B.C. to where the Chilcotin and Fraser rivers meet.
The Big Bar Ferry will remain out of service for about a week due to safety concerns, according to DriveBC.
The province said it will be removing remote cameras near the landslide on Thursday, but it will continue to monitor the situation.