Rain-Soaked Slope Collapses in Coquitlam, Homes Evacuated

A significant mudslide occurred in Coquitlam, British Columbia, following days of heavy rainfall exacerbated by an unusually long atmospheric river. The slide, which descended on Thursday in the 1900 block of Pipeline Road, forced the airlift evacuation of eight residents. While some homes were spared severe damage, adjacent properties, including those of elderly residents, sustained hard hits, leaving them displaced and questioning their safety.

Local residents, like Jeannie Dmytronetz, who has lived in the area for 40 years, are linking the incident to ongoing major construction projects. Specifically, work by B.C. Hydro for transmission towers and by Fortis B.C. for gas pipelines on Eagle Mountain is cited, with concerns raised about extensive clear-cutting of vegetation on the slope.

B.C. Hydro has stated that there is no indication its infrastructure or past construction activity on Eagle Mountain contributed to the slide, attributing the event to extreme weather increasing slope instability. Metro Vancouver also noted that their own slope stabilization efforts in the area between 2019 and 2021 did not impact construction sites for their water main project.

The City of Coquitlam confirms that the situation is now stable with cleanup in progress, but the precise cause of the mudslide is still under assessment. Experts, including earth sciences professor John Clague, suggest that removing vegetation on slopes can indeed heighten risks of slides during heavy rain by increasing runoff.

Residents are calling for a thorough investigation into the incident to determine the exact contributing factors. The focus for displaced individuals, particularly the elderly, remains on regaining a sense of security, which they believe depends on remediation of the slope above.