Regional Official Warns that Landslide Blocking BC River Could Collapse in Next 24-48 Hours
A significant amount of debris from a landslide blocking the Chilcotin River in British Columbia’s central Interior could potentially collapse within the next 24 to 48 hours.
Margo Wagner, the chair of the Cariboo Regional District, has stated that the water accumulating behind the slide south of the City of Williams Lake may reach a level where it starts flowing over the debris or eroding the material, leading to its collapse.
During a news briefing, Wagner mentioned that the riverbed below the slide is dry, and officials are uncertain about the potential downstream impacts once the dam is breached.
However, she emphasized that a significant amount of water would flow down the Chilcotin, which runs south into the Fraser River.
Evacuation orders cover 107 square kilometers along the Chilcotin, with regional officials warning of an “immediate danger to life and safety” posed by the slide.
The district reports that 60 properties are under evacuation orders, including 12 homes with approximately 13 residents.
Wagner described the slide as “massive,” with debris piled 30 meters high and stretching 600 meters in length, completely obstructing the flow of the Chilcotin.
She added, “As the water continues to flow and accumulates behind that landslide, the pressure increases, but we do not have a definitive timeframe for when it will release.”
A statement from the provincial government warns that the sudden removal of the obstruction could lead to “rapid increases” in water levels along the Chilcotin and the Fraser River, reaching as far as Hope, approximately 150 kilometers east of Vancouver.
