Evacuation order remains for Summerland property after landslide

The District of Summerland said on Tuesday an evacuation order is still in place for one Garnet Valley Road property after Friday’s landslide.

The district said it is still assessing the possible impact of the slide on a water main and road in the area, and to see whether there is any risk of a further slide.

“Right now we just don’t know if the potential is for more or not,” Summerland chief administrative officer Linda Tynan said.

The District said the 10-metre wide slide flowed into the corner of a home. During the slide a large tree came down and hit the deck before going through the kitchen window into the house.

Residents were at home but no one was hurt.

That property was put on evacuation order after Friday morning’s landslide, while another property on Garnet Valley Road was put on evacuation alert meaning they should be ready to leave quickly if needed.

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Those evacuation alerts and orders remain in effect Tuesday.

Also Tuesday, a Penticton company hired by the District was using a drone to map the water-logged hillside above the slide zone.

“The plan right now is to monitor this,” said Scott Waterfield of Osprey Aerial Intelligence. “So we’ll be coming back to fly once a week to see if the conditions change at all, if the hill moves or if there’s areas that slough off.”

The drone captured information will also hopefully provide some answers.

“That’s what the geo-techs are looking at,” said Tynan.  What was the cause, was it a natural course, was it a diverted course, what went wrong?”

Tynan is warning people to stay off the evacuated property for their own safety.

She said the slide is on private property but that hasn’t stopped people from venturing onto the lot to look at the slide.

“We are having quite an issue with people approaching the property,” Tynan said.