Questions remain about emergency response and long-term solutions after Monday night’s landslide in Old Fort.
Jordan Kealy, MLA for Peace River North, says the landslide came as no surprise.
“Unfortunately for this community, they’re stuck in the same scenario of being removed from their homes. My heart goes out to them,” Kealy said.
The ground is shifting in the same area as the 2018 and 2020 landslides. Old Fort Road, the only access in and out of the community, was shut down each time.
Kealy says it is unfair to repeatedly order Old Fort residents to leave their homes, but there may be few viable solutions.
The ground had already begun moving beneath the roadway when residents were ordered to evacuate. By Tuesday night, the road had shifted nearly 20 metres.
Peace River Regional District Chair Brad Sperling says the movement is accelerating, now reaching two to three feet per hour.
Some residents are calling for a safer, more reliable road to prevent a similar outcome in the future.
However, Sperling says the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure explored alternate routes after the 2018 slide, adding, “None were found better than its present location.”
The portion of the road affected by the landslide is located 1,5 kilometres from BC Hydro’s Site C Security Gate B. The road is paved to the gate but turns to dirt on the way to Old Fort.
Kealy says upgrading the road is expensive and could range between $20 and $250 million. However, he is pushing for the province to invest in the Peace Region’s infrastructure.
“We see so much revenue coming out of our region, but very little actually comes back,” he says. “The infrastructure in our region is being neglected, and I’m really pushing the ministry to see funding coming back in a major way.”
Kealy says he met with Mike Farnworth, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, to discuss the future of the road.
Farnworth told Kealy the ministry is monitoring the landslide and will explore solutions once the ground stabilizes. Officials say that could take up to two weeks.
One solution could be for the province to buy out residents living in the area. Fifty properties have been placed under evacuation order, but no homes have been damaged so far.
Road accessibility will be re-established as soon as it is safe, as some residents have remained in Old Fort.
Kealy says he is also pushing for answers as to why some residents did not receive emergency alerts on their phones.
Sperling could not provide a reason, noting the Ministry of Emergency Management deals with those alerts. However, the PRRD sent a search-and-rescue team door to door to ensure every resident was made aware of the evacuation order.