Residents on Nk’Mip Road and the Osoyoos Cottages area are home following an evacuation due to a potential landslide on Inkaneep Creek. (Image contributed)
Residents in and near the Osoyoos Cottages area have returned home following an evacuation order late Friday night due to a potential landslide, but with warmer temperatures on the way the threat is not completely gone.
The Osoyoos Indian Band issued an evacuation order for 188 homes on Nk’Mip Road and the Osoyoos Cottages area late Friday evening citing “immediate danger to life safety.”
“There’s a landslide that blocked the creek and last Sunday it let loose and a big mudslide came down,” said Osoyoos Indian Band councillor Tony Baptiste.
There was concern that the landslide would continue into the residential area.
Baptiste said the evacuation order was issued after locals visited the area, took pictures and video of the slide which they then submitted to the regional district.
“They panicked and said, ‘this is an imminent threat’ and that started the wheels rolling and everyone was going every which way.”
By midnight, the evacuation order was in place and local RCMP and firefighters were going door to door, telling residents to relocate to the Oliver Legion.
“We agreed with everybody that it was better to be safe than sorry and implement the evacuation order,” Baptiste said.
The evacuation, which Baptiste described as “a little bit of a challenge” because of livestock and pets which also had to be relocated, carried through the night.
Evacuees were relocated to the Osoyoos Indian Band Community Centre the following morning.
The order was rescinded the same day after Baptiste joined a geotech on a helicopter ride to assess the risk of the potential landslide.
“From all the pictures and all we had seen the geotech determined that it would be safe to lift the order, so we did that.”
But as the weather begins to warm up, spring runoff could still cause a landslide.
Baptiste is worried that this week’s warm temperatures – a projected high of 27 Celsius on Friday – could melt snow and increase water levels, especially when paired with the rain forecasted for Saturday.
“If we get a lot of rain, that could affect that area and more sediment could come down and flood the creek,” he said.
The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) is currently reminding people to prepare for melting snow, which is “beginning throughout the region.”
In a press release, the RDOS said that melted snow creates flooding because it overwhelms streams, along with causing land, mud and rock slides by destabilizing ground.
“Above average snow packs indicate that spring runoff could be vigorous and may last well into June,” the release stated.
The RDOS is encouraging property owners to use this week’s dry and sunny weather to prepare for the threat.
“If you sandbagged properties adjacent to creeks, streams or waterways last year, you may have to again this year … Addressing these issues now and safeguarding can reap big rewards when the snowmelt begins.”
As for the Osoyoos Indian Band, they’re continuing to investigate the landslide threat and prepare for the worst.
VANESSA BROADBENT
Regional Reporter
