A landslide along a river in British Columbia's central Interior, as shown in this handout image provided Central Cariboo Search and Rescue, has prompted the Cariboo Regional District to issue an immediate evacuation order spanning 73 square kilometres due to the risks posed by flooding.HO/The Canadian Press
A man camping along the Chilcotin River in British Columbia’s central Interior woke up to the sound of a landslide overnight Tuesday and managed to run to safety as the ground moved beneath his feet.
Debra Bortolussi with Central Cariboo Search and Rescue said the man told rescuers the next morning that he had set up camp with his dog during a rafting trip, when he heard sounds of the slide at around midnight and started running.
“It genuinely seems like a miracle that he did not get caught in it,” Bortolussi said in an interview following Wednesday’s rescue operation.
“It directly came down overtop of where he was,” she said. “His tent, his raft, everything was taken out by the landslide itself.”
The man’s dog is missing, but Bortolussi said rescuers are hopeful they might find it because he had yelled at the dog to follow him during the escape.
The landslide is blocking the river, and the Cariboo Regional District issued evacuation orders spanning 107 kilometres along the river due to “immediate danger to life and safety” caused by flooding as the waterway backs up.
A statement from the regional district said 12 homes are covered under the evacuation orders with an estimated 13 residents.
The district also declared a state of local emergency Wednesday, telling residents to gather their families and take anyone else who may need help to get out.
Along with a flood warning for the Chilcotin River upstream of the landslide in the vicinity of Farwell Canyon, the province’s River Forecast Centre issued watches for the river downstream of the slide as well as for the Fraser River from the Chilcotin River confluence downstream to Hope, B.C.
The forecasting centre also issued a high streamflow advisory for the Fraser River downstream of Hope.
A statement Wednesday from the provincial government said personnel from the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship are on the ground conducting assessments.
It said aerial support from the BC Wildfire Service is assisting with assessments and “further geotechnical assessments are under way to determine the level of risk downstream.”
The province said several helicopters were dispatched to assist with search and rescue efforts in the area.
Bortolussi shared a video and photos taken from a helicopter showing muddy-looking water pooling behind a mass of soil and trees blocking the river.
“It appears to be essentially the entire side of the riverbank and the small, kind of like mountain cliffside there sloughed into the river,” she said.
Bortolussi said the rescued man sustained lower-body injuries during his escape, and he’s in stable condition after spending the night atop the slide area.
She said the man wasn’t carrying an emergency communications device, but a local resident spotted him and made the call at about 8 a.m. Wednesday.
The rescue involved landing a helicopter near the slide site, allowing two rescuers to hike down to the man and carry him back to the aircraft on a stretcher.
Bortolussi said the search and rescue team is on standby as the landslide continues blocking the river, which is a popular rafting route.
“There’s potential we might still have more rescues of individuals even just stranded on the river now that it’s dried up, or [potentially] more injuries,” she said.
The nearby Tsilhqot’in First Nation shared a statement saying it has activated its emergency operations centre to help those who need assistance.