THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2018 VOL. 75, NO. 41
SERVING FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES
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Old Fort landslide, seen from the Peace River, Oct. 6, 2018. See more photos by visiting alaskahighwaynews.ca/photos
Old Fort landslide expected to get worse • Full evacuation ordered; may last through to spring • Residents question gravel pit • Viewpoint closed indefinitely MATT PREPROST editor@ahnfsj.ca
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The Old Fort landslide has grown to more than six million cubic metres, but when it will stop and when evacuees can return home is anyone’s guess. Rhonda Mellafont, an engineering geologist with Westrek Geotech, gave residents an update on the extent of the slide during a community meeting Monday morning, saying the slide is “radiating” in a number of directions that make it difficult to predict when it will stop and where it will spread. “It is a very deep-seated failure,” Mellafont said. Mellafont was hired by the Peace River Regional District and arrived last Friday. She’s been collecting data through helicopter surveys and ground truthing investigations, however, the scope and speed of the landslide has prevented further data from being collected, she said. The landslide has been moving between five to 10 metres a day and doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon, she said. As of Monday morning, the slide had reached a back chan-
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Resident Gord Pardy speaks at a community meeting in Fort St. John on Oct. 7.
MATT PREPROST PHOTO
A helicopter takes a LIDAR survey of the Old Fort landslide to assess its progress and speed, and condition of the hillside, Oct. 6, 2018.
nel next to the Peace River and reactivated a number of “relic” landslides in the area. Those slides can give in at any moment, she said. “It is still moving significantly,” she said. Things are expected to get worse through the winter with rain and snow, and freeze thaw
conditions. “With exposed soils in these existing failures, it has the potential to worsen conditions and potentially speed up the process,” she said. “It’s going to get worse before it’s going to get better. I hate to be the bearer of bad news.” Old Fort residents were
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ordered to evacuate on Oct. 7, one week after the landslide began on Sept. 30. The order includes 54 homes. Mellafont says the area remains unsafe due to the instability. Further investigation plans, including drilling, are being discussed with the regional district, Mellafont said. But those can’t start until the slide stops. Even then, it will take many more months of study and analysis when it does, she said. There’s a distinct possibility the evacuation may last until spring. “It’s not safe for habitation and I cannot tell you it will remain safe to return home at this time,” Mellafont said. Officials with Yellowhead Road & Bridge and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure say they are studying a number of different options to re-establish road access to Old Fort. The preferred route is to re-establish the road close to where it already is, but that’s been challenged by the ongoing movement of the slide. Every direction is being studied, but each option comes with its own challenges, from environmental to private property access. “This is not a question of resources,” said a ministry official. “This is a question of safety right now.” An official with the Ministry of Energy, Mines & Petroleum Resources says the ministry was informed the day of the slide that the outer edge of a gravel pit operating above the landslide on the 240 Road had dropped eight to 10 metres. See LANDSLIDE on A3
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