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Slides still have hwy closed

 

UPDATE: noon

RCMP say the first mudslide came down on Highway 1 near Herrling Island about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Officers from Fraser Valley Traffic Services, Hope and Chilliwack responded to the slide, which blocked both east and westbound lanes.

No injuries have been reported, however the highway is expected to remain closed for an extended period, says Const Melissa Wutke.

DriveBC is expected to provide its next update at 2 p.m.


UPDATE: 11:45 a.m.

Mudslides continue to have Highway 1 closed between Chilliwack and Hope.

Fraser Valley Regional District spokeswoman Jennifer Kinneman says muck and debris came down early Thursday in several locations.

"It's a fairly long stretch of the highway, and I understand there were five separate points where there was a mudslide," she said.

Kinneman said the nearby Popkum Fire Department responded to the first calls for help because some vehicles were stranded by debris or power lines that had come down.

She said firefighters helped several people, and one was taken to a local hospital by ambulance.

The Ministry of Transportation and RCMP has taken over at the site.

"I know that BC Hydro is on scene. I also know that CN Rail had to stop traffic on the rails because there was debris on the tracks," she said.

An Environment Canada rainfall warning remains in effect for eastern sections of the Fraser Valley, with a further 15 to 25 millimetres of rain expected.

– The Canadian Press


ORIGINAL: 8 a.m.

It's slow going for travellers driving between British Columbia's Interior and Lower Mainland after a mudslide closed Highway 1 through the eastern Fraser Valley.

Muck and debris came down overnight in two locations on the Trans-Canada, about 120 kilometres east of Vancouver. The first is east of Bridal Falls, and the second at Hope. Geotechnicians are on scene at both sites, DriveBC reports.

No one was hurt in either slide.

DriveBC says experts are assessing the stability of slopes along the highway, and there's no word when the route will reopen.

A detour is available via Highways 7 and 9 through Agassiz, although construction on Highway 9 is adding to the delays.

A mudslide has also closed Highway 40, west of Lillooet, isolating the communities of Gold Bridge and Bralorne, and an estimated time of reopening is not available.



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