Evacuation order, alerts remain in place after landslide in Vallican, B.C.

An evacuation order for one home and an alert for six properties on Little Slocan Road remain in place following a landslide in the West Kootenay community of Vallican, B.C., on Tuesday.

The Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) emergency operations centre had originally issued evacuation orders for three properties and evacuation alerts for five others following the slide.

On Wednesday afternoon, those orders and alerts were downgraded, leaving one property remaining under evacuation order, and three properties remaining under evacuation alert. Later Wednesday, the regional district added a further three properties to the alert.

Those under an evacuation alert must be prepared to leave with little to no notice.

Emergency support services are being provided for the evacuees in the community, which is located approximately 300 kilometres east of Kelowna and 25 kilometres north of Castlegar.

Little Slocan South Road was closed in both directions Tuesday night, according to the regional district, with an official saying a geotechnical engineer would perform an assessment the following day.

On Wednesday, the RDCK said that the road would likely reopen in the late afternoon, but on Thursday it said in a release that due to the damage to the road, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure had closed the road until further notice. 

Dan Elliott, communications co-ordinator with the RDCK, said the area did not have a history of landslides but had faced wildfires before.

"Obviously, residual effects of wildfire can result in landslides and debris flows," he told Sarah Penton, host of CBC's Radio West. 

"That's definitely something that the experts, geotechnical engineers and the like, obviously take into consideration when they're trying to determine the reason for the landslide."

As a flood watch was placed on the entire regional district by B.C.'s River Forecast Centre, Elliott said the landslide was a reminder that all residents in the district should be prepared for emergencies.