The path of destruction left behind by a mudslide that tore down the east side of the valley south of Oliver near Road 16 on June 13. Photo by Paul Everest - Click on picture for larger image

OSOYOOS TIMES-June 16, 2010

By Laurena Weninger - Osoyoos Times

A break in a man-made portion of a water reservoir lake at the top of a mountain is being blamed for a massive mudslide that wiped out five houses in rural Oliver on June 13, said Mark Woods, community services manager for the Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS).
The mudslide came crashing down the hill on the west side of Hwy. 97 near Road 16 just after 2:15 p.m., forcing the evacuation of 25 properties.
No one was hurt in the slide, and it appears everyone who was in the area where the slide happened is now accounted for.
The torrent was set loose from a water reservoir up the hill, informally referred to as Testalinden Reservoir Lake, Woods said.
A combination of snow melt, rain and the failure of a man-made portion of the structure – a berm or dike of some sort – caused the slide, which caused roughly two-thirds of the water in the reservoir to come crashing down the hill via Testalinden Creek.
Dave Janzen, chief of the Oliver Volunteer Fire Department, was visiting a friend in the area when the slide happened.
“I was right there when it happened,” Janzen said, explaining at first they just saw water running down a driveway, then more down Hwy. 97.
Then he saw a woman nearby pointing up the hill.
“I looked up and all I saw was a big cloud of dust and a house caving in,” Janzen said.
He moved his truck to block traffic from coming down the highway and called in emergency services.
Janzen said the mud that came down the hill was a swath about 60 metres wide and 1.8 metres deep – and it made quite a rumble.
“Eerie. It was a really eerie feeling. It was something I won’t want to witness again,” Janzen said.
Residents in the area started fleeing their homes.
One family got out just in the nick of time, Janzen said, and were literally running as the mud came down behind them.
The family dog from that home didn’t get out in time, but was found, safe and sound, the next day, still in the remains of the house.
The fire department remained on scene until almost 7 p.m.
Local police, Oliver-Osoyoos Search and Rescue and Penticton Search and Rescue were also on scene.
Hwy. 97 was closed – and will likely remain closed for another four days – due to mud and debris covering a section of the highway and traffic is being re-routed along Black Sage Road on the east side of the valley.
Karen Knelsen, director of Emergency Social Services for the Oliver and Osoyoos area, said things are starting to feel more organized around the emergency reception area at Oliver’s Community Hall.
She got a call for assistance at about 4 p.m. on June 13 and has since been working to account for anyone who might have been in the area, including residents and seasonal agricultural workers who were tenting in the area.
“Most people, thankfully, have family in the area and are being taken care of,” Knelsen said.
The provincial emergency program helps ensure everyone’s needs are met for in the first 72 hours after an emergency.
But even though the slide appears to have stopped, residents were not allowed to return to their homes as of the afternoon of June 14.
“Public safety is absolutely at the pinnacle,” Knelsen said, adding domestic water is not available in the slide area and power lines are down.
Woods said geotechnical engineers have been working to confirm the cause and trying to determine if the threat of further slides is over.
There is still water left in the Testalinden reservoir lake, he said, and that could still come down if the barrier holding what’s left breaks down further.
But there are no other water bodies in the area of the same scale, Woods said, explaining he doesn’t think there is a risk of other slides and that this was a “one-off” situation.
He said when emergency personnel figure out if the danger has been removed people will be allowed to return home immediately.
RCMP members are working to keep the area secure.
It is yet unknown if insurance programs will cover the properties.
Knelsen said the concern is about more than just homes.
The slide knocked out an estimated 20 hectares of orchard, said the owners of properties neighbouring the slide area, and damaged equipment at one of the local packing houses.
Peter Prendergast, a regional manager for Emergency Management British Columbia under the B.C. Ministry of Public Safety, said the dam that broke was constructed in the 1930s and was built of surrounding dirt and earth.
There is a formal investigation underway to further look into why the dam gave way.
As of June 15, the B.C. government had approved Disaster Financial Assistance to help home and property owners affected by the mudslide with recovery efforts.
reporter@osoyoostimes.com