Image: Canadian Press / The provincial government has issued an emergency alert to B.C. residents advising them to immediately leave portions of the Chilcotin River in central B.C. as well as the Fraser River due to heightened concerns over possible flooding and debris buildup within waterways.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Provincial emergency alert

Flood watch issued for Fraser River downstream to Hope

Jul 31, 2024 | 11:16 PM

CHILLIWACK — The provincial government has issued an emergency alert to B.C. residents advising them to immediately leave portions of the Chilcotin River in central B.C. as well as the Fraser River due to heightened concerns over possible flooding and debris buildup within waterways.

According to the text of the emergency alert, people and boaters are being told to immediately leave anywhere on the rivers or along the banks of the Chilcotin River from Hanceville to the Fraser River, and the Fraser Valley from the Chilcotin River to Hope.

“Sudden potential flooding and debris flow in and around the Chilcotin and Fraser Rivers poses a threat to human life,” the alert stated. “People and boaters in the area are asked to leave immediately.”

A landslide blocking a river in British Columbia’s central Interior has injured a man and prompted the Cariboo Regional District to issue evacuation orders due to “immediate danger to life and safety” caused by flooding triggered by the slide.

The two evacuation orders span 107 square kilometres along the Chilcotin River southwest of the City of Williams Lake.

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A spokesperson for the Central Cariboo Search and Rescue Team says the man was injured while trying to run away from the slide and he’s being cared for by emergency health services personnel after a rescue operation that involved a helicopter.

The regional district has also declared a state of local emergency as it tells residents to gather their family and take anyone else who may need help to get out.

It says people should take available routes north to Highway 20 and east to Williams Lake.

The Cariboo Regional District issued an evacuation order due to flooding caused by the landslide.

On Wednesday afternoon, the B.C. River Forecast Centre issued a flood warning, a flood watch and a high streamflow advisory for stretches of the Chilcotin and Fraser Rivers.

The forecast centre advised that the landslide has dammed the Chilcotin River and is creating an upstream lake.

DriveBC says the Lytton Ferry will be out of service starting Wednesday evening at 10 p.m. due to the risk of high water and debris. The Big Bar Ferry has also been closed.

The District of Hope issued a statement Wednesday night saying a landslide has blocked the Chilcotin River, affecting the Fraser River downstream of their confluence. Flows in the Fraser River at Big Bar Creek have decreased by over 150 cubic metres per second as of midday Wednesday, July 31. The landslide dam could fail, the District of Hope said, resulting in a possible sudden and large surge of water downstream into the Fraser River. This could reach the District of Hope within a day.