Image: A mudslide has blocked Highway 99 near Lions Bay. / Miller Capilano Highway Services
Search underway

Occupants of a home are missing in wake of Lions Bay mudslide

Dec 15, 2024 | 9:23 AM

SQUAMISH — Emergency crews are searching for the occupants of a home impacted by a mudslide that occurred Saturday (Dec. 14) near the Brunswick Road exit ramp off Highway 99 south of Squamish.

The slide forced the overnight closure of Highway 99 but the route has since reopened. The residence, believed to have been hit by the slide, remains inaccessible, and its occupants are unaccounted for as of Sunday morning.

Emergency responders, including RCMP and Canadian Task Force 1 Heavy Duty Search and Rescue teams, are working on-site alongside highway maintenance contractors and Ministry of Transportation officials.

A technical assessment of the area is ongoing, and crews are expected to remain on location for the foreseeable future.

The landslide that shut the road happened around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday during a strong windstorm.

The storm also left more than 300,000 without power, though BC Hydro said all but a few thousand had power back as of Sunday morning.

Environment Canada warned Saturday’s wind gusts in the metro Vancouver area could be hit with 70-kilometre per-hour winds and gusts up to 100 kilometres per hour as a low-pressure system moved in.

Police in Surrey say a woman died during the storm after she was hit by a falling tree.

Click here to report an error or typo in this article