Landslides, floods and firearms

If it’s not one thing, it’s another for Highway 16.

The Yellow head was closed west of Smithers this afternoon for a period of time today, while the RCMP dealt with an undisclosed incident.

Opinion 250 is reporting that the highway was closed due to an incident with a firearm.

It has since been reopened to traffic, but no further details on the incident have been released.

Incident Closes Highway 16 This Afternoon
By 250 News
Tuesday, June 26, 2007 06:46 PM

RCMP are on the scene of an incident on Highway 16 , west of Smithers.
The highway was closed for a period of time today during what is believed to have been an incident involving a firearm.

As of 6:45 tonight the police from at least two detachments, Smithers and Hazelton remain on the scene, although the highway was reopened late this afternoon.

Other details are not yet available.

Highway could be closed for at least a week

With the banks of the Skeena overflowing and Highway 16 submerged in more than a few locations, Highways officials say it could be at least five to six days before they can even assess the state of the roadway that links Prince Rupert and Terrace.

With the Skeena not expected to drop at least until Sunday, Highways officials say the roads will not be passable.

The CBC website featured details of the flooding along the Skeena, as well as the situation in Terrace itself, which seems to be bearing the brunt of the flood situation in the northwest at the moment.

The CBC site also reported that a barge of supplies for the North coast is already en route to Prince Rupert and that forestry planes and helicopters are on standby, ready to airlift food, fuel and medicines into the flood zone.

The Terrace Standard had an update on the flood situation at the east side of Terrace a bit down the road from the Legate Creek mudslide, a plan to build a secondary berm or dike was discarded after officials said that while with good intentions, the idea really wouldn’t provide much relief to the flood situation in that segment of the Skeena River.

The full story on that is provided below.

Dyke plan won't work
The Terrace Standard
10:05:35AM, Jun 07 2007

TRANSPORTATION MINISTRY officials have shelved a plan to drain Skeena River flood waters that blocked Hwy 16 50km east of Terrace.

They had been considering building a berm or dyke on the river side of the highway to stop more water from pouring across, and then pumping or draining the water from the highway itself.

"It was a good idea but the engineers said it was impractical," says transportation ministry official Don Ramsay.

Part of the problem was having to dump material in the middle of a water course, he added.

"That simply would not have worked. There was no way it could hold back the water," Ramsay said.

The plan was to use material from the massive mudslide that first closed down the highway May 28.

It's close to the flooded area but because that material is wet, the water would have seeped through, said Ramsay.

Tragedy confirmed at Legate Creek

Last weeks mud and rockslide east of Terrace has claimed two lives, as the RCMP, Ministry of Highways and Coroner's service discovered a pick up truck buried in the massive slide of soil, rocks and trees just east of Terrace.

Upon further investigation, the RCMP and Coroner's office discovered that two bodies were in the pick up, confirmed as overdue travellers from Williams Lake.


Couple buried beneath mudslide
By Leanne Ritchie, The Daily News
Published: Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Page One

The heavy snow melt that prompted a mud slide 37 kilometres east of Terrace last week has claimed the lives of two people.

Yesterday, Terrace RCMP along with the B.C. Coroner Service recovered a pick-up truck buried at the scene of the mudslide that happened May 28.

A male driver and a female passenger were found deceased in the cab of the truck. Staff Sgt. Eric Stubbs said their names are being withheld at the family’s request. Both the RCMP and the B.C. Coroner Service are continuing to investigate this tragic accident.

The vehicle was found after the Mounties got a report of two overdue travellers.

The slide measured 66 metres long and up to 10 metres deep when it roared over the highway on May 28. Officials had originally hoped no one was caught when half the mountainside came down, however the highway is remote and witnesses unlikely.

Highways crews have been working steadily to try to clear the road, however traffic has once again been stopped as flooding now makes parts of Highway 16 impassible.

Highway 16 from Prince Rupert to Terrace closed

The Ministry of Highways closed Highway 16 this afternoon from the Port Ed Turn off to Terrace, due to the flooding conditions along stretches of the highway.

They plan on issuing a further update at 8 pm.

Road updates are available from the Drive BC website.

Update: 6:00 pm

The Northern View website has passed along a Terrace Standard story which reported that one of the caused of the road closure between Prince Rupert and Terrace is a concern over a railway ballast near the Shames Mountain road, which acts as a dike of sorts between the highway and the Skeena. There is a high volume of water shooting through the ballast at the moment, a situation that has CN and Highway officials keeping close watch on the area.

Highways officials fear CN ballast could burst
By Terrace Standard
6:03:33PM, Jun 05 2007

Transportation officials are worried about the volume of the water shooting through the ballast that forms the CN track bed beside Highway 16 near the Shames turnoff west of Terrace.
"From the pictures I've seen, the water's shooting through at a tremendous rate," transportation ministry official Don Ramsay said late this afternoon. "It's almost like a firehose."
The volume is such that Ramsay and others are worried the ballast could collapse altogether.

"And if that were to happen there'd be four to six feet of water on the road," said Ramsay.
As it is, CN's track bed in that area almost acts as a dike against the rising Skeena River.

The leakage is why the Hwy16 is closed between Terrace and Prince Rupert.

Elsewhere on Hwy16, there's several feet of water east of the mudslide which closed off Hwy16 earlier this week.

Vehicle found at Terrace mudslide site

The RCMP website is reporting that an investigation into two travellers being reported as overdue, has resulted in one vehicle being found in the mudslide site east of Terrace. Further information is planned for later in the day.

The CBC website featured a story on the discovery in the noon hour Tuesday. An updated press release came across late in the evening, confirming the worst, that a couple were trapped in their vehicle at the time of the mudslide event, the truck and their bodies have now been recovered.

Update on Mudslide on Highway 16, 38 km east of Terrace, BC On June 4th, 2007, the Terrace RCMP received a report of two overdue travellers. As a result of inquiries related to this report, police attended the scene of last week's mudslide on Highway 16, 38 km east of Terrace, BC.

With the assistance of the Ministry of Transportation, a search was conducted and a vehicle was located buried in the debris.

The police will be working at the scene throughout the day in an effort to recover the vehicle. At this time, police are unable to confirm if there are any victims inside the vehicle.

A futher press release will be forthcoming at the end of the day.

Released by S/Sgt Stubbs Ops NCO Terrace RCMP Phone: (250)638-7416
-30-

-->RCMP Media, /Communications"E" Division
5255 Heather StreetVancouver, BC V5Z 1K6
Phone: (604)264-2929
Fax: (604)264-3200
Email: media.webmaster@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

Update 8:00 pm

Vehicle recovered at scene of Terrace mudslide

The following is an update to the press release issued on June 5th 2007. Terrace RCMP along with the BC Coroner Service have recovered a pick-up truck buried at the scene of a massive mudslide that occurred on May 28th, 2007.

A male driver and a female passenger were found deceased in the cab of the truck.

Their names are being withheld at the family’s request. Both the RCMP and the BC Coroner Service are continuing to investigate this tragic accident.

Any media inquiries can be directed to Cst Annie Linteau, Communication Officer with the “E” Division Strategic Communication Unit, (604)264-2929.

-30-

-->Pierre Lemaitre, Cpl."E" Division Strategic Communications
5255 Heather StreetVancouver, B.C. V5Z 1K6
Phone: (604)264-2929
Fax: (604)264-3200
mail: media.webmaster@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

Highway travel trickles eastward

We continue on with the catch up work with a review of Friday’s headline story, the re-opening of Highway 16 to traffic at Legate Creek, a small window of opportunity to move eastward from Terrace.

CARS EDGING PAST MASSIVE SLIDE THAT CLOSED HIGHWAY
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, June 01, 2007

Traffic began trickling, one lane at a time, through the muddy remains of the slide near Legate Creek this morning.

The Ministry of Highways has cleared one lane and has set specific times during the day when traffic will be allowed along Highway 16.

Openings for single-lane alternating traffic began with the first opening from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. this morning, followed by a planned opening from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and again tonight from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m. The Highway will be closed at night until further notice.

"Stay tuned to DriveBC.ca because we are making a concerted effort to keep that updated in a timely way," said Don Ramsay, area manager for the Ministry of Highways.

Since the slide, there have been many subsequent pulses of material coming down the mountain.

"That has caused us great concern for the safety of our workers and has slowed some of our clearing operations."

And the debris that covered 150 feet of road, 40 feet deep has also moved since Monday because of the water in it.

"It's very wet, there are literally small rivers running through it and on the surface," said Ramsay.

"It has created some problems for drainage and has blocked some culverts with smallish rocks filling up the culverts that have had to be cleared out. We have had some real challenges over the last couple of days."

Each morning at first light, the ministry is sending up an engineer by helipcopter to assess the slope.

"When you see it, you realize it was a phenomenal slide. The whole side of the mountain came down," he said.

"Any time there is any risk of any additional debris coming down, we will have a spotter in place and we will be maintaining very guarded traffic through there. Even when we get two lanes open, it will be controlled traffic with communications from the spotter from above."

Some of the debris is being pushed onto the right-of-way but most is being sent to an old gravel pit used during the construction of Highway 16.

"It was been returned to Crown Land many years ago and we have had it assigned by Crown Land for this use," said Ramsay.

He said drivers should feel comfortable driving through the area.

"People should be confident. There are many precautions in place but I would advise people not to dilly-dally and certainly not to stop to look at the slide and also not to drive too fast - just drive at a safe speed for the conditions," he said.

After clearing the highway, the next step will be to install berms and catchment areas on the mountainside to protect the highway from further slides.

However, this cannot occur until the slide has dried out enough to get an excavator on top of the pile.

Ramsay added that crews from Nechako Road Maintenance and a number of Northwest contractors deserve a pat on the back for the long hours they have been working to get the highway open again.

Much of the commercial traffic coming in and out of the region in the past week has been using the Cranberry Connector. However, this forestry service road adds a four-hour detour and is not meant for general traffic.

The Cranberry Connector is a logging road that connects New Aiyansh to Highway 37 North, just south of Meziadin Junction.

New Democrat MLAs Gary Coons and Robin Austin said this week they feel it is time for the province to upgrade the Cranberry Connector.

"This stretch of Highway 16 is the only road connecting the communities of Terrace, Kitimat and Prince Rupert to the rest of the province," said Coons, the MLA for the North Coast.

"These communities are cut-off for days when a slide, like the one on Monday, happens. It is unacceptable that the province doesn't see the necessity of another route into these communities.

However, Transportation Minister, Kevin Falcon, has said that the province has no plans to upgrade the Cranberry Connector because of the cost.

CBC provides Legate slide photos and reports

The CBC's Daybreak North website features a number of pictures of the massive mud slide on Highway 16 east of Terrace. The webiste also features some archived material of reports on the slide.

Work continues on the slide site as conditions allow, presently the three windows of opportunity for travel east and west provide the only access in and out of the western half of highway 16.

Updates can be found on the Drive BC website.

No re-opening yet for Highway 16

Heading into Wednesday there is still no definitive word on when the highway between Terrace and Kitwanga will be re-opened after a massive land and mud slide that has left the road blocked.

Pictures from the scene show a mountain of debris stretching far and wide which must leave the highways and forestry crews with but one question. Where to start?

It’s a time consuming process ahead, one that is limited by daylight, weather conditions and stability of the area so as to provide for the safest work environment possible. There is hope of an announcement on Wednesday, but time will tell as to when the road re-opens to traffic between the coast and Prince George.

Drive BC website

Below is some of the regional and national coverage of the story.

CTV News-Northern BC Town still cut off after landslide
Prince George Citizen-Highway 16 probably closed for another day
Global BC-Highway 16 reopening long way off, residents fear
CBC News-Highway 16 remains closed until Wednesday
Opinion 250-Crews Working on Terrace Area Slide

The Daily news had details on the slide in Tuesday’s paper.

HIGHWAY LOST UNDER HUGE SLIDE
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Tuesday, Many 29, 2007
Page one

Crews are venturing into the rocky landscape created by the mud slide that closed Highway 16 Monday morning, however loose debris is hanging on the slide chute above them and if anything moves on the mountain side, they will have to stop working to clear the road.

Don Ramsay, area manager for the Ministry of Transportation and Highways, said they’ve started removing the slide that covered 150 feet of highway with a river of rubble 40 feet deep. However, safety of the work crews is the number one priority.

“We’ve been given the go-head to begin removing material subject to weather conditions,” said Ramsey.

The slide took place yesterday near Legate Creek, which is 37km east of Terrace, closing both east- and west bound traffic.

The Ministry has a spotter in place to view the slide chute and closely monitor the lose material still on the hillside.

“If any material moves or the visibility of the spotter declines because of rain, we will have to shut it down,” said Ramsay.

If all goes well, at the earliest, the highway may be open late on Wednesday, he said.

Geotechnical engineers from Prince George were brought in yesterday to assess the stability of the slope and they gave the go-ahead to begin removing the debris.

Crews will be working to clear the road from both sides of the slide. However, many thousands of truckloads of rock, mud and trees will have to be removed, as much as 25,000 cubic metres of material.

The slide may have been triggered by the heavy rain that fell near Terrace on Saturday afternoon, or by the significant run off from this year’s record level snow packs, or a combination of the two.

The Ministry of Transportation has also been working with the RCMP at the slide site.

“It’s not absolutely definitive that no one was caught in the slide but we have been in touch with the RCMP and they have advised us they have not received any reports of missing persons at this time,” said Ramsay.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is also involved in the clean-up effort, working with the province to identify sites where the material can be safely moved without impacting fish habitat.

So far, one site has been identified on the west side of the slide and other is being explored for the east side.

And the transportation ministry sent a grader to smooth out sections of a logging road known as the Cranberry Connector. It is 50 km long and the only east-west route now connecting the Northwest with the rest of B. C. However, it is not a recommended route.

Highway 16 troubles multiply

Yesterday it was one washout near Slim Creek, about 110 kilometres east of Prince George.

Today, the highway is suffering a number of problems, another wash out shutting travel to one lane near McBride and one westbound near Houston, where traffic is reduced to one lane.

In addition to that, there is water pooling around the Houston area as well, to make the weekend driving just a bit more challenging.

The opinion 250 website had a number of pictures and details on the problems and you can check out the drive bc website for up to date information.

Highway 16 reduced to one lane east of Prince George

A land slide east of Prince George has reduced the Northern version of the Trans Canada highway to but one lane for east west travel.

Opinion 250 provided a dramatic picture of the slide area which took place 117 kilometres east of the city and the situation on the highway continues to be monitored for further erosion.

It is in the same area where a slide 15 years ago closed the highway until repairs could be completed.