Ten people found themselves trapped in the Upper Squamish Valley on the weekend after high water levels washed out the main forest service road.
Late Sunday (Nov. 4), police and Squamish Search and Rescue received a call that two vehicles were stranded behind the slide after a portion of the Squamish Valley Road disappeared at Mud Creek — at the 33-mile mark of the road.
A backhoe was on scene, said Squamish RCMP Sgt. Wayne Pride on Monday (Nov. 5). Search and Rescue volunteers were on standby in case the road couldn’t be rebuilt within a reasonable time, Pride noted.
“The people are in good health,” he said.
On Monday (Nov. 5), the water level dropped, allowing eight people to cross, said Dave Southam, the Squamish Forest District’s operations manager. One individual stayed behind to look after their supplies.
As of Tuesday (Nov. 6), road work was still ongoing and the road remained closed, with no promises of opening that day, Southam said.
Washouts at that point in the forest service road are a semi-regular occurrence, he said. After a heavy rainfall, debris from Mount Cayley flows down Mud Creek and either sweeps the road out or blocks it off.
Both the Black Mount Forest Operations and Sqomish Forestry currently are logging in that area, Southam said. Sqomish Forestry president Jeff Fisher was on scene managing the situation, Southam noted.
The roadway is used by industrial vehicles every day of the week, the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations’ website stated. The ministry will pay for repairs, Southam said.
