Landslide concerns force Quesnel vet clinic out of its building as other ridge homes placed on alert

A veterinary hospital is among several properties in Quesnel, B.C., that have been evacuated due to landslide concerns. 

Evacuation orders and alerts put in place last week remain in effect for parts of the B.C. Interior town, including properties along Dragon Hill Road and Panorama Ridge. Quesnel fire chief and emergency services director Sylvain Gauthier said geotechnical assessments continue, and a report on the land movement is expected sometime this week. 

"The Cariboo [region] has always had land movement that we know of, but why this year ... that's something that we weren't expecting and we're dealing with right now and trying to figure out why," Gauthier said.

City officials visited Marshall Veterinary Hospital, located on Dragon Hill Road, last week. Shortly thereafter, clinic staff were told they had to close down, effective immediately. 

That presented a challenge for office manager Katharine Robinson and the other staff at the clinic, as there were animals in their care at the time. 

"It didn't even feel real at first," Robinson told Radio West host Sarah Penton. 

She immediately started calling other veterinarians in town asking them to take on inventory, food, medical supplies and other business supplies they were concerned about losing. She's also had to call clients to inform them of the clinic's future. 

Now Robinson is running the business side of the practice from her living room. 

"It's pretty overwhelming, to be honest," she said. 

Robinson said she had noticed land movement around the clinic about three weeks prior to being evacuated, and had been in contact with insurance providers and contractors. 

"I didn't really ever feel that it was dangerous, but you can see that there's cracks and things like that, you can see there's been some changes."

Marshall Veterinary Hospital was up for sale, and the evacuation and closing of the business meant Dr. Edward Marshall's plans to retire were expedited. 

"His entire world just came to a screeching halt," Robinson said.

Evacuations remind residents of years past 

Katie Harrington said the news of these evacuation orders and alerts are reminiscent of what her family went through last spring. 

"My heart goes out for these people because the experience we've had has been nothing short of a nightmare," she said.

They were forced to leave their home in May 2020, 17 months after relocating from the Lower Mainland to Quesnel, when a geotechnical engineer arrived at their door, took a look around and deemed their property unsafe, asking them to leave immediately.

Harrington said she started to cry, and packed up her kids and drove up the hill. 

"He seemed genuinely shocked that I did not know we were living in a landslide zone, but of course, this was the first we had heard of that," she said.

"I was scared and I was scared for my children, too. It was very traumatic for them."

Harrington was denied insurance and disaster financial assistance, and is now suing the Cariboo Regional District and the home builder.

"I couldn't help but think about these people who are being evacuated and wondering if they're going to end up in the same situation that we are."