The mudslide that has been covering Highway 3A since about 9:00 am Wednesday has been cleared. DriveBC reports the portion of the highway 4 km north of Castlegar was cleared tonight as of 7:03 pm.
The Regional District of Central Kootenay says a remediation plan for the area near the slide is in the works. They’re awaiting results from today’s tour of the slide site by geotechnical engineers brought in by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations.
Regional fire chief and emergency operations coordinator Andrew Bellerby praised all agencies involved in getting the highway open after yesterday’s slide. Traffic had been moving in alternating single lanes since the highway reopened last night.
Bellerby says the Local State of Emergency declared for Area I and an evacuation order for a property on Sentinel Mountain forest service road will remain in place. He says geotechnical experts have been examining the area near the property to evaluate ground stability to ensure there is no risk for future slides.
He says the Regional District will continue to work with geotechnical engineers tomorrow to determine a timeline for rescinding the evacuation order and removing the emergency declaration.
Yesterday’s mudslide didn’t cause any injuries or damage to properties or vehicles.
Bellerby warns that natural hazards may exist where you live and its important to be prepared for emergencies like slides or floods. He recommends signing up for the RDCK’s emergency alert system.