Chilcotin, Fraser rivers settling after B.C. landslide surge

By Isaac Phan Nay
CBC News
August 8, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Three days after water and debris from a breached landslide powered down the Chilcotin and Fraser rivers in southwest BC, officials say the surge is starting to settle.  Last Wednesday, a landslide blocked the Chilcotin River causing water, fallen trees and other debris to build into a rising lake behind the slide. Water began spilling over the dam on Monday, and soon carved a channel through the landslide that sent a dangerous torrent rushing down the Chilcotin and into the Fraser River. In an update Wednesday evening, the province said the pulse of water has “essentially dissipated” into the southern reaches of the Fraser River in B.C.’s Lower Mainland. …But BC Minister Nathan Cullen said the focus now is on assessing fish passage across the Chilcotin landslide site. There were around 60,000 cubic metres of debris, half of which was captured by the debris trap.

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