It’s their third evacuation alert in just under two months, due to the threat of a landslide near Wiseman Creek, and residents at the Sicamous Creek Mobile Home Park are unsure whether they’re staying or going.
“It’s stressful, it’s very stressful, you have to have everything in your bag, your go-bag, ready to go,” said Jolana Gammel, the Parks Emergency Services Liaison and resident.
“It could come an order in the middle of the night which would be very heavy for the elderly in here. It’s nervewracking, that’s about it, it’s not an easy way to live.”
Gammel says in the event of a landslide, an evacuation order would be issued, giving residents only about 15 to 20 minutes to leave.
“It inhibits your daily routine,” she says.
The risk of a landslide in the mobile home park increased this year after a severe wildfire last summer left the ground unstable near their watershed. It could lead to a debris flow if the water in the creek becomes too full.
At this point, Gammel believes the area might be in the clear if weather conditions are favourable.
“There hasn’t been anything coming down the mountain, the creek hasn’t risen to the levels that they had expected. It is high, everything is high around here at this moment but as for debris flow or a mudslide, I think we’re okay,” said Gammel.
Gammel adds that a permanent fix to avoid any future landslide risks may not be in the District’s budget.
“Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of mitigation that can be done, because it runs up into the millions. I don’t know, you can’t expect them to put millions of dollars into a possibility,” said Gammel.
The evacuation alert will remain in place until conditions are favorable and safe enough to lift it.
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