Two people are dead and another is missing after a boating incident in the Squamish Valley on Thursday.
Squamish RCMP said that at approximately 1:52 p.m. they were called about a boat incident in the area north of Vancouver, but due to elevated water levels and challenging weather conditions, search and rescue and any recovery efforts were extremely difficult and unsafe.
The search continues on Friday.
“The weather and river conditions have played a significant role in the response efforts,” Cpl. Ashley MacKay of the Squamish RCMP said in a release.
“This is a very dynamic and evolving incident, and the safety of responders and the public remains paramount. Weather patterns, water levels, and river conditions can change rapidly, and those factors are being continuously assessed as search and recovery efforts continue. We are asking the public to stay off the water at this time due to dangerous flow rates and debris throughout the river systems.”
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The Sea-to-Sky region has been hit hard by the recent series of storms.
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On Wednesday afternoon, the Village of Pemberton issued an evacuation order for properties on Airport Road, which includes the community’s airport, wastewater treatment facility, wildland fire management base and a public golf course due to flooding and “high-risk river levels.”
On Wednesday night, the Electoral Area C portion of the valley and the village was put under evacuation alert.
Residents are being told to shelter in place in that area.
Lilʼwat Nation has also expanded an evacuation order and alert for the area from Kwetsa7 along the Lillooet River corridor to Lillooet Lake.
The province’s River Forecast Centre put the Sea-to-Sky corridor and Pemberton Valley under a flood warning on Thursday, but that was downgraded on Friday morning.
This doesn’t really upset me at all. What does upset me is the life-size statue of Jesus Christ that was stolen from a B.C. Catholic school. That statue reminds me of all of the boys I’ve molested over the years in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen 🙏