The B.C. government says it’s keeping a close eye on river flows as a “big pulse” of debris and sediment-laden water is expected to work its way down to the Fraser River after a massive landslide dammed the Chilcotin River last week.
Connie Chapman with the province’s water management branch says the pulse of water after the dam breached Monday morning will make its way toward the Fraser River, and modelling shows it will reach the community of Hope sometime today.
Chapman says some places will see river levels swell to levels comparable to the spring runoff, flowing down toward Lillooet, then Boston Bar, and then onto Hope, which will see river levels increase about one metre.
She says once the water enters the Fraser River, it will have more room to spread out and officials will be monitoring how and where debris from the water pulse ends up.
Water and Resource Minister Nathan Cullen says experts from the province, First Nations, and Canada’s Fisheries Department “worked tirelessly” on the response to the slide, which entered a “new phase” once it breached the dam on Monday.
Cullen says they were preparing for “all possibilities,” and though the risks are decreasing after the dam breach, the possibility of more landslides due to unstable slopes remains “a real concern.”
Evacuation orders for residents in the Cariboo expanded Monday as water along the Chilcotin River began to pick up speed following the overflow that started early Monday.
The following orders are in place:
- Fraser River from the confluence of Churn Creek to Little Leon Creek: anywhere on the Fraser River and its banks from the confluence of Churn Creek and the Fraser River to Little Leon Creek, 25km south of Big Bar Ferry.
- Hanceville to the Gang Ranch Rd Bridge: 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 the Gang Ranch Rd Bridge.
Those in these areas have been told to evacuate those areas immediately as flooding and debris pose a threat to human life.
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