Evacuation lane opened to skiers trapped at Sasquatch Mountain Resort
Credit to Author: Scott Brown| Date: Mon, 03 Feb 2020 21:53:14 +0000
The Ministry of Highways opened a single-evacuation lane at Sasquatch Mountain Resort on Monday afternoon, providing an escape route for hundreds skiers stranded there following a weekend mudslide.
Heavy rainfall Friday caused a mudslide that wiped out a section of Hemlock Valley Road, the only road leading to the resort, 90 minutes northeast of Abbotsford.
More than 500 hundred guests, employees and area residents were trapped on the mountain Friday night, but helicopters had managed to ferry some out of the area by late Sunday.
Although the road remains closed indefinitely, heavy equipment crews managed to carve out an evacuation lane Monday morning. A pilot vehicle was leading groups off the mountain around noon Monday, while locals and staff were able to take advantage of the opening to load up on supplies.
The evacuation lane was schedule to reopen around 4 p.m. to allow local traffic back up the mountain.
UPDATE – Hemlock Valley Rd remains CLOSED due to mudslide between Sasquatch Mountain Resort to 2 km south. Assessment in progress. Detour not available. Next update February 3 at 9 AM. More info here: https://t.co/w4iyJisCIC#AgassizBC pic.twitter.com/A867OBsUCa
“Please be at Hemlock Valley Road by 5 at the latest,” read a notice on a Sasquatch Mountain Resort website. “If you are not here by this time there is no guarantee of return, as transportation needs to occur during daylight.”
The Ministry of Highways said it will be days before Hemlock Valley Road will be reopened to regular traffic.
“Crews will continue to work around the clock so we can safely open road to single lane alternating traffic,” the ministry said in a Twitter statement.