Slide near Site C dam in northeastern B.C. cuts road, prompts limited evacuation

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – A landslide is creeping down a steep slope in northeastern British Columbia, carrying away part of a gravel pit, isolating the small community of Old Fort and forcing the evacuation of two properties.

The Ministry of Transportation said on Twitter that Old Fort Road leading to the community was closed Sunday when the hillside began to give way.

The ministry said geotechnical experts expect it could be days before the earth stops moving.

By Monday, Old Fort Road was covered by several metres of dirt.

Old Fort resident Gord Pardy said the earth seems to be slowly slumping away from the hillside.

“If you can imagine a lava flow coming across, but (this) has sort of come under the road and lifted the road and pushed it,” he said.

An update on the Peace River Regional District website said there was no immediate threat to Old Fort, which is east of the slide.

However, the community of about 30 homes is cut off and is preparing to lose electricity as the slide edges toward power lines, Pardy said.

Most people in Old Fort have switched from wood stoves to electrical heat, he said, adding that they also depend on regular deliveries of water by truck.

“Everybody is going to run out of water,” he said.

The regional district ordered the evacuation of the gravel pit on the top of the slide and another nearby property. Access to the Peace River Lookout, which oversees the entire area, has also been cut off.

Pardy said the gravel pit appears to be “split in half, half of it is sliding down the hill.”

“The trees make a lot of noise, they’re popping and cracking. The pavement falls. The dirt’s moving. A big chunk of the hillside has just moved down 50 feet. Amazing.”

The regional district set up an emergency operations centre Sunday.

On Monday, it said transportation would be available to anyone who wanted to leave Old Fort. Boats would take people down the Peace River to Taylor, B.C., where a bus would meet them at the boat launch and take them to a reception centre.

BC Hydro, which is responsible for the Site C project, said on Twitter that although the slide is close to one of the gates leading to its dam, there is no evidence it is linked to construction. On Monday, it said work was continuing onsite as planned and it would continue monitoring the landslide closely.