(Vancouver) The British Columbia government is asking residents along the Chilcotin and Fraser Rivers downstream of a major landslide to evacuate immediately, as water has begun to flow over the ice jam created last week by debris in the river.
An emergency alert issued by the province Monday says anyone along the banks of the Chilcotin River from Hanceville to the Fraser River and up to the Gang Ranch Road bridge south of Williams Lake should leave the area. The government warns that flooding and moving debris “pose a threat to human life.”
Images posted online Monday by the provincial government and aerial images of the landslide site shared by B.C. Water and Natural Resources Minister Nathan Cullen show water flowing through the ice jam formed by a major landslide last week.
The provincial government says the landslide that created the ice jam in the Chilcotin River is 1,000 metres long, 600 metres wide and 30 metres deep.
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District says all private properties within 300 metres of the banks of the Fraser River are on evacuation alert, including four properties adjacent to the river. The district says two of the properties are on Big Bar Road, one is on Empire Valley-Big Bar Road and one is on Watson Bar Road.
The Tsilhqot’in First Nation government is also saying on social media that people should avoid river banks that have been submerged by the large reservoir that formed behind the ice jam.
Tsilhqot’in Chief Joe Alphonse says enough water has built up above the ice jam to start working its way through the landslide debris. He says his community is most concerned about the impact of the event on future salmon runs on the Chilcotin River.
Provincial officials issued an evacuation order Sunday night for the area just north of where the Chilcotin River meets the Fraser River due to flooding concerns. In a statement Sunday night, Cariboo Regional District officials urged residents to leave “immediately” and warned that those who chose to stay would do so at their own risk. The evacuation order covered 3.5 square kilometres.
Last week’s major landslide in Farwell Canyon, about 22 kilometres south of Williams Lake, created a massive ice jam on the Chilcotin River. Water then backed up behind the dam to form a large reservoir about 11 kilometres long.
The Tsilhqot’in First Nation said that as of Sunday morning, the ice jam was holding 61 million cubic metres of water, the equivalent of “24,400 Olympic swimming pools.”
British Columbia’s emergency management service also warned Sunday that water was expected to begin flowing over the ice jam “within the next few hours.”