Before you jump to conclusions let me say this is not happening in the Robson Valley, but it is in BC. There was a massive landslide in the Chilcotin area. The dirt and trees, slide into the Chilcotin River, making a dam and blocking it. As a result a late is forming (the turquoise colored area in the photo above). This lake is getting bigger and bigger as the water flowing down the Chilcotin River is backing up behind the dam.
Sooner or later there will be so much water backed up, that the dam caused by the landslide will burst, and all of that water will go streaking downstream, wiping out everything in its path. It could potentially even cause flooding in the Fraser River, which the Chilcotin River drains into. Not only is riverside property in danger, but also, all of the salmon that are beginning to migrate up the rivers to spawn.
I have been fascinated with this impending disaster. I have always found these kind of situations interesting. In the spring of 1986, we had a similar sort of thing happen on the outskirts of McBride. There was an avalanche that swept down in the backcountry, blocking one of the tributaries of the Dore River. No one knew about it, but it blocked the river and the water began to build up behind it. Eventually there was so much water behind it, that the dam the avalanche had caused burst, and torrents of water bulldozed its way downstream.
The flash flood reached the main valley, sweeping a car off of Highway 16, and flooding the area between the Dore River and the overpass. Fortunately no one was hurt.
In the Chilcotin, residents have been warned to stay clear of the river, and the dam is being constantly monitored so a warning can be given when the dam gives way.
View my paintings: davidmarchant2.ca
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