Evacuation alerts issued in Princeton after hillside shifts 'significantly'

The Town of Princeton has issued an evacuation alert for multiple properties after a slope showed signs of instability.

All Jacobson Road properties and 175 Tulameen Avenue are on alert. Old Hedley Road appears possibly compromised by a potential slide.

"This is a precautionary measure," said Mayor Spencer Coyne in a video address Wednesday afternoon.

"The hillside above Old Hedley Road going up from the Brown Bridge up towards N&L Automotive has become unstable. It has moved significantly in the last 24 hours. We are waiting for a [geotechnical engineer] to come to town hopefully tomorrow to do a study on it."

In the meantime, people are asked to stay away from that area of road.

John Allison Elementary has posted that bus service is cancelled due to the road closure, and parents are asked to pick their children up at school.

"Passenger vehicles can get here. We will keep your children safe until you get here," they wrote on social media.

The evacuation alerts have been put in place so that the town can act quickly in case of emergency.

"It's precautionary, it's for public safety ... hopefully tomorrow we will see a geotech team to work on that," Coyne said.

An evacuation alert means affected properties should prepare to evacuate immediately if need be. More information on how to prepare can be found here.

Photo: Town of Princeton