Efforts to prevent debris flow in Oliver area as evacuation alert expands

UPDATE: The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen (RDOS) has evacuated one home in the Sportsmens Bowl Road area.

The resident haS been placed in the care of Emergency Social Services for the next 72 hours.

There are 147 other properties in the area that remain on Evacuation Alert.

Covert Family Farm Estate is within the alert area and is considering layoffs in its wine shop because customers can’t reach them due to the road closure at Secrest Hill Road and Highway 97.

Owner Shelly Covert told Global News they have appealed to the RDOS for customers to drive up to only their property, but have yet to receive a response.

Covert Farm is not at threat of flooding, but is at risk of losing some road access to their property if the dam above the area bursts.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Since Monday evening the province has been pumping water across Secrest Hill Road near Oliver in an effort to prevent the failure of a dam and culvert system.

Local regional district area director Terry Schafer has been raising concerns that a culvert under the road couldn’t handle the amount of water building up in the area. He was worried the water would breach the road and cause water, mud and debris to pour down the slope into the community below.

Watch Below: Regional district area director for Rural Oliver, Terry Schafer, discusses the ongoing efforts to protect Oliver area properties from a potential debris flow.

1:26 Efforts to protect rural Oliver from debris flow

Officials are trying to prevent that scenario by pumping the built-up water over the road into nearby Park Rill Creek.

The area is being inundated by water as a result of what Schafer described as “the perfect storm,” with precipitation, the melting of a higher than normal snowpack and upstream flood mitigation in Willowbrook, which has been hit by flooding.

On Monday night the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen expanded an evacuation alert in the area “due to the potential of a debris flow.”

The alert now includes 148 properties and on Tuesday residents were preparing in case they are asked to leave quickly.

Watch Below: Mary Lou Hilborn was staying in the evacuation alert area near Oliver on Monday night. She describes the scene as fire crews came through the area notifying residents of the evacuation alert expansion.

0:46 Oliver area evacuation alert expands

– with files from Shelby Thom