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25 homes evacuated in Penticton due to potential rockslide concerns

Click to play video: '3,000 cubic metres of rock closes Highway 97 between Summerland and Peachland'
3,000 cubic metres of rock closes Highway 97 between Summerland and Peachland
Monday's massive slide that completely closed Highway 97 between Callan Road and Okanagan Provincial Park continues to block all lanes in both directions today and has some residents of North Beach Road expressing some big concerns over the large rockslide. Travis Lowe has more. – Aug 29, 2023

Residents of 25 homes in a Penticton neighbourhood have been asked to temporarily go elsewhere as crews evaluate the threat of a potential rockslide.

The City of Penticton also issued a local state of emergency as of Tuesday evening.

“Earlier today (City of Penticton) staff were informed of a large rock that has the potential to break off, posing a potential threat to nearby residences,” Emergency Operations Centre director Kristen Dixon said in a press release.

“Staff immediately had the site reviewed by a professional geotechnical engineer and following that, made the decision to evacuate the potentially impacted properties. The city is working to further assess the area, and develop plans to remove the rock fall risk.”

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The homes are located in the northwest corner of the Pleasant Valley Mobile Home Park on Penticton Avenue.

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Click to play video: 'Rock slide closes Highway 3 near Keremeos'
Rock slide closes Highway 3 near Keremeos

Residents were informed by members of the Penticton Fire Department and Bylaw Services of the potential threat earlier Tuesday afternoon. Emergency Support Services has been activated at Fire Hall 2 at 285 Dawson Ave.

“Residents are asked to go down to the ESS centre and register as this will allow us to continue to update them on developments and what next steps may be necessary to deal with the hazard,”  Dixon said.

 

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