Photo: RDOS

Sinkhole along Elinor Lake Forest Road

5 p.m. Update: An Evacuation Order for residents of Indian Rock and the surrounding area has been lifted and all homeowners are allowed back into their homes.

The RCMP will continue to secure the area, and area residents are being asked to use caution around all local water bodies.

Dave Davenport, who has owned property in Indian Rock for almost 50 years, was happy to get the news.

“I think they did a very good job,” he said. “I was going to go to the liquor store if I had to go to the hotel, now I will turn around and go home.”

The Order was put in place Friday.

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Although crews have been working around the clock to monitor conditions in the Chute Lake Dam area,  Karla Kozakevich, area director for Naramata and surrounding areas, said they were currently erring on the side of caution.

“Yesterday the Ministry of Forest Lands (and Natural Resources) began diverting water and they are still doing that,” she said. “So we want to keep the evacuation in place while we wait and watch.”

The problem was first observed Friday, after melting snow and heavy rainfall from Thursday resulted in an excessive amount of water in Chute Lake which spilled over the dam at the location.

The water caused sinkholes in adjacent Elinor Lake Forest Service Road, essentially creating a small second lake.

“There was a concern then that if the road blew there would be all this water rushing down on the houses below,” said Kozakevich.

 Kozakevich could not confirm or deny if the dam was one of the many dams that was to be repaired under dam safety regulations after the mudslide in Oliver in 2010.

To ensure residents of about 47 homes in the area below were safe, an evacuation order was made by Dan Ashton, chairman of the RDOS, on Friday afternoon. Search and rescue teams subsequently alerted people living in the potential danger zone.

Several of them showed up at the Naramata Fire Hall Friday evening to sign in.

Jan Gladstone of Indian Rock said her greatest concern was the welfare of her animals.

She is also performing in tonight’s Naramata Choir concert.

“I made sure I had my choir gown with me,” she said.

After signing in at the fire hall, evacuees went to stay with friends and family members in Penticton. Some stayed at the Sandman Hotel Penticton.

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

Evacuee Grady Peat waits outside the RDOS office on Saturday.

Indian Rock resident Grady Peat was in Vancouver when he heard of the evacuation. He drove home as quickly as he could, while his wife and daughter took their two horses to higher ground.

He was concerned about his home and vineyard, but understood the actions the ministry and RDOS needs to take.

“They are being cautious because of what happened in Oliver. That same situation could happen here,” he said. “But I would like to go home, because I have a lot of work to do.”

The RDOS is slated to provide an update regarding the situation later today.