BC is sending landslide experts to Monte Lake to better assess what happened and what the risks are in the future in the area, which was heavily burned in 2021 by the White Rock Creek Fire.
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A flash flood and mudflow that hit parts of Mount Lake in inland BC has highlighted the increased risks of such events in heavily burned areas.
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The province is sending landslide experts to the lake to better assess what happened and what the risks are in the area, which was heavily burned in 2021 by the White Rock Creek Fire.
A heavy deluge of rain and hail on June 28 caused water and mudflows that inundated two private campgrounds and community trailer parks along Highway 97 east of Kamloops. Water and debris also inundated parts of the highway, which was closed to one lane for several hours. None was injured.
The potential for increased flooding and debris flows after wildfires was highlighted in a Postmedia News investigative series published in May that found government efforts have fallen short of what is needed to adequately protect communities. communities from an expected increase in flooding and wildfires caused by climate change.
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Kevin Skrepnek, director of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District emergency operations center, who visited the site last week, said anecdotally that wildfire damage was certainly a contributing factor, as much of the material that fell was soot/ash sediment. for the glare.
“Unfortunately, this was a perfect storm situation. The heaviest downpour hit the worst possible location, in terms of structures present, with almost surgical precision,” Skrepnek said.
Flooding and mudflows were largely confined to a three to four kilometer stretch on the north side of the highway. 97, she said.
Skrepnek said that, as a local government in the area, its scope to address the problem is somewhat limited as the road and slopes above the road are under provincial jurisdiction, while the properties are private.
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He said the regional district has asked the province for a more detailed assessment of the event and the risks, so the British Columbia Ministry of Forests is sending its geomorphology team this week. Ministry of Forestry officials confirmed that their geomorphologists have expressed interest in conducting further surveys of the area around Lake Monte regarding natural hazards related to the White Rock Lake Fire.
Skrepnek said that while there has been more rain since last week, there has been no additional damage.
Wally Green, owner of the Heritage Campsite and RV Park, located just off the highway. 97 at Monte Lake, said he had never seen such intense rain in such a short time. The water, mud and debris that entered the camp was 700 feet wide and more than a foot deep, Green said, noting that after a cleanup, the camp was open to the public.
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Noting that both sides of the valley had been devastated by a wildfire last summer, he said he was not sure what could have been done to stop the flash flood as the amount of rain that fell was so heavy.
He added, however, that he had little doubt that forest burned by wildfires has less capacity to absorb water.
A preliminary report from the Ministry of Forestry, produced in October last year, identified a post-fire landslide hazard as high and moderate flooding around Lake Monte. The report concluded that properties and structures on both sides of Monte Lake may be affected by nuisance sedimentation and overland flows as a result of the fire.
Experts have said that when fire burns through a forest, it leaves behind a hydrophobic (water-repellent) soil. Even several years later, rain and runoff do not infiltrate the soil in the same way.
In Sicamous, another inland community whose watershed was also affected by forest fires last year, a mobile home park was placed on evacuation alert Sunday due to the threat of landslides.
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