Crews working to re-open roads after flooding, landslides north of Pemberton
Posted September 21, 2015 11:44 am.
Last Updated September 21, 2015 6:46 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BIRKIN (NEWS 1130) – Clean-up efforts are underway in a community north of Pemberton after flooding and landslides washed out several roads.
An evacuation order forced people to leave several homes and cabins near the community of Birkin. Heavy rains washed out Portage Road.
“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us,” says Ryan Wainright with the Squamish Lillooet Regional District.
“Work has begun to clear the road where the landslide impacted north of Pemberton. But they are currently working under restricted conditions because the upslope safety of that site has not been assessed by a geotech yet.”
“The priority right now is to get the road open so that those folks isolated on the other side — and there’s about 200 of them — once again can get in and out of their community. At the same time, we’ll be working with those home owners to arrange for them to go in and safely assess the damage to their properties.”
Wainright notes several properties are still under an evacuation order.
Several other roads in the area were also affected, with slides washing away cars and stranding campers.
A flood warning is still in place for the Sea to Sky Corridor including the Lillooet River and surrounding streams.
Power has been restored to the 200 people affected.
