Pemberton told to shelter in place as floods shut Highway 99

Residents of Pemberton, B.C., were told to shelter in place Thursday as floodwater from a multi-day storm on the south coast made roads in the Pemberton Valley impassable and DriveBC closed a stretch of Highway 99 east of the village.

The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District asked people in and around the Village of Pemberton to stay where they are if it is safe to do so, and to keep essential supplies and grab-and-go bags ready, CP24 reported Thursday morning. The Village of Pemberton’s evacuation alert now covers the entire village, which means everyone there must be ready to leave on short notice, according to EmergencyInfoBC, which last updated the alert at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

An evacuation order remains in effect for properties from 1674 to 2000 Airport Road. The village upgraded an alert for that area to an order on Wednesday afternoon, saying floodwater posed an immediate danger to life and safety. The order takes in the community’s airport, its wastewater treatment plant, a wildland fire management base and a public golf course, The Canadian Press reported.

DriveBC lists Highway 99 as closed because of flooding from Rancheree Road to north of Stager Lane, near Mount Currie, in an update posted at 8:26 a.m. PT Thursday. The Pemberton Valley Dyking District said Thursday morning that Pemberton Meadows Road and Highway 99 at Mount Currie were badly flooded, and warned that the Ryan River was close to overtopping its dike, Pique Newsmagazine reported. The village has also cautioned that Pemberton Creek near One Mile Lake could spill onto Highway 99 and cut off road access south to Whistler with little warning.

The Lil’wat Nation has ordered people to leave the area from Kwetsa7 along the Lillooet River corridor to Lillooet Lake. Evacuees are asked to register at the Ullus Community Complex in Mount Currie, according to the Nation’s evacuation notice.

Four schools in the area, Signal Hill Elementary, Pemberton Secondary School, Blackwater Creek Elementary and Xet’olacw Community School, were closed Thursday, Pique reported.

Farther south, the District of Squamish issued a shelter-in-place advisory after BC Hydro warned that rising discharge from Daisy Lake would flood the Paradise Valley area, The Canadian Press reported in a story carried by Global News. Residents near Sunwolf Lodge and Cheekye Ranch were asked to stay indoors, and EmergencyInfoBC said Paradise Valley Road was unsafe for travel.

The flooding follows a run of storms that has soaked southwestern B.C. since Tuesday. Environment Canada recorded 138 millimetres of rain at Whistler, 134 mm at Squamish and 140 mm at Porteau Cove on the Sea to Sky Highway over 48 hours, while Port Mellon on Howe Sound received as much as 306 mm since Tuesday, according to The Canadian Press. Warm air added to the runoff: Wednesday was the warmest Nov. 11 on record in more than two dozen B.C. communities, CP24 reported, with temperatures above 20 C in parts of the Interior and Fraser Valley.

As of mid-morning Thursday, Environment Canada had orange rainfall warnings in place for west and inland Vancouver Island, meaning severe weather is likely to cause significant damage and disruption, and yellow rainfall warnings for the Sunshine Coast and for east Vancouver Island from Nanoose Bay to Fanny Bay. Howe Sound and the Sea to Sky region were no longer listed among the active rainfall warnings, though rivers in the area remain high.

On Vancouver Island, about 30 properties in Zeballos remain under an evacuation order because of flooding and landslide risk, and the Strathcona Regional District issued a water conservation notice for Sayward after high flows in Newcastle Creek added sediment to the water supply. Canada News Media reported on the Zeballos evacuation order last week and on the forecast of up to 250 mm of rain as this storm arrived on Monday.

Officials are urging people not to walk or drive through floodwater, to move to higher ground and call for help if water blocks their route, and to check DriveBC before travelling. Pemberton residents can sign up for local notices through Pemberton Alert, and evacuees can register for short-term help through Emergency Support Services, the village says.