The Village of Lions Bay has declared a local state of emergency as the search continues for a second missing resident whose home was swept away by a Saturday landslide.
In a statement published late Sunday evening, Lions Bay Mayor Ken Barry said there’s a local emergency in the Brunswick/Magnesia Creek area due to debris flow that has damaged property and infrastructure, and killed at least one person.
The order allows the village to access additional provincial resources, Barry said, as it continues to manage the fallout of the natural disaster.
On the morning of Dec. 14, the land gave way above Highway 99 beside the Brunswick Road offramp. The slide sent mud, rocks and large trees down the slope and across the busy Sea to Sky Highway, closing it in both directions.
Travellers were advised to turn around, or stay put if they hadn’t set out yet. Highway 99 remained closed until 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning, after crews worked overnight to clear the mess.
The slide also affected several homes at the north end of Lions Bay. In particular, a house on Glendale Avenue was swept off its foundation. Two residents are believed to have been living there.
Emergency crews, RCMP, and heavy-duty search and rescue crews from Canadian Task Force 1 were on site today, searching.
On Sunday evening, police said that emergency crews found the body of one of the residents, who had succumbed to their injuries. But the second resident was still unaccounted for, and the search would continue on Monday, Barry said.
Squamish RCMP was reached for an update on the search on Monday, but a response was not provided by publication time.
Under the command of Lions Bay Fire Chief Barret Germscheid, first responders from multiple agencies are actively involved in the operation. Those agencies include Lions Bay Fire/Rescue, Lions Bay Search & Rescue, Britania Fire & Rescue, RCMP, West Vancouver Police and Metro Vancouver Protective Services & Emergency Management.
The provincial Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness has also been working closely with municipal staff regarding co-ordination and logistics, Barry said.
Saturday’s landslide was due to a significant debris flow, the cause of which is under investigation, Barry said.
“Further geotechnical investigation of this area will continue over the next few days,” he said.
An evacuation notice for the homes at 52 to 61 Brunswick Beach Road has been lifted, Barry said.
“We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and members of our community,” he said. “In addition, we would like to thank all first responders and supporting agencies for their dedication and professionalism during this challenging time.”
Witness shocked by scale of the slide
Squamish resident Paul Cain, who travels to New Westminster every Saturday to visit his partner, couldn't complete his regular trip this weekend as he found himself stuck at home due to the slide. He instead set out early Sunday morning after the highway reopened. Cain said he had an eerie feeling as he approached Lions Bay.
“As I got closer to the landslide, that’s when it got really powerful. I was like, ‘Oh my God,’” he said. “As I drove through it, I had that kind of feeling of being within a natural disaster and just in awe of what happened.”
Cain said he always travels with his camera equipment, but had no prior plan to film the area. That changed when he arrived. Struck by what he saw, he pulled over and took out his drone.
Flying high above the slide, Cain captured video of the mangled terrain.
What first shocked him was the scale of the mud.
“I was so surprised – on both sides, north and south – how far it had stretched,” Cain said. “That’s when it fully hit you … the power of a part of the mountain falling down was pretty surreal.”
He spotted several homes near the slide that were untouched. Cain also noticed a crew working near a damaged structure in the heart of the damaged slope.
When something happens in the Sea to Sky region, everyone living there feels it, Cain said.
“So Squamish and Whistler and Pemberton and myself are sending our love to the families and the people affected by this landslide,” he said.
Professor Brent Ward, co-director of the Centre for Natural Hazards Research at SFU, said that the Lions Bay event appears to have had significant force compared to other landslides in the region.
“The fact that it appeared to have jumped up out of the creek bed in at least one spot means that it was fairly large, and it was going quite quickly,” he said.
If you ever find yourself facing a landslide, Ward recommends staying inside.
“That is by far the best decision,” he said. “If you can, you should go up into the upper floors of the house, because the debris, if it hits the house, it will go into the lower floors. Your survivability is increased if you’re higher up in the building.”
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