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16 months later, B.C. mudslide evacuees allowed to return home

Residents of two Sunnybrae properties near Salmon Arm can return but will remain on evacuation alert
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Two homes were severely damaged by a landslide which roared through the 4000 block of Sunnybrae-Canoe Point Road on April 7, 2017. The subsequent evacuation order is now lifted. (File photo)

Sixteen months after a landslide devastated properties in Sunnybrae near Salmon Arm, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District has decided it’s safe for the residents of the two houses that were hit hardest on that stretch to return.

Related: Landslide destroys homes but spares occupants

The evacuation order for the properties located at 4467 and 4473 Sunnybrae-Canoe Point Road, which was first issued on April 7, 2017, has been rescinded.

A total of four properties on the road, including the two released Aug. 8 from the order, will be under evacuation alert, meaning anyone on the properties must be prepared to leave if the weather or site conditions deteriorate.

According to a regional district notice rescinding the evacuation order, occupants of the properties should immediately leave if they notice a sudden increase or reduction in stream flow or greater turbidity in the stream. It says unusual earth movement or stream channel migration, and noises which could indicate earth movement like rolling rocks or cracking tree roots, are also causes for concern.

The properties had been monitored by security since the landslide forced their evacuation in the spring of 2017, a season notable for the flooding that took place.

On May 5, 2017, a month after the landslide on April 7, a resident was killed in a mudslide in the 5900 block of the same road when his house was knocked off its foundation.


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