Road to Telegraph Creek, B.C., partially reopened after rock slide
'That is day-to-day and can change at any time,' says Tahltan Band Council chief
The road to Telegraph Creek, B.C., is in use again, but only for certain vehicles during limited hours.
The road was completely closed for nearly a week after a large rock slide buried part of it on Nov. 5. It happened about 19 kilometres from the small community, where the road hugs a steep slope above a river.
The debris has been partially cleared, allowing four-wheel drive trucks and SUVs to get through during limited hours. On Wednesday, passage was restricted to 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
"That is day-to-day and can change at any time," said Tahltan Band Council Chief Rick Mclean, about the scheduled road openings.
"There's a lot of debris that is still loose and unstable above the road ... the meter-and-a-half that's on the road that they're driving over right now is basically holding the rest of it from coming down."
Hwy 51. Rock slide 19 km east of Telegraph Creek. Road closed. Detour not available. Geotechnical monitoring ongoing. Scheduled opening Tues Nov 13 from 10:00am to 4:00pm only. *All-wheel-drive vehicles only*. Schedule may be revised on short notice. Check DriveBC for updates <a href="https://t.co/davLMAfHKl">pic.twitter.com/davLMAfHKl</a>
—@LDMStikineMclean says larger trucks still can't get to Telegraph Creek, and it's not clear when they might. He says it hasn't been a major issue yet, as there's enough fuel on hand for several more weeks.
A grocery truck was expected Wednesday. Mclean said the cargo would be loaded onto smaller vehicles to get through the rock slide area.
"We're definitely working on a plan to make sure that we have a passage for medical emergencies, prescriptions, food, the fuel supplies — so it's all in the works, and we will manage through it, I guess, until we have a long-term solution."
Mclean says engineers from the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure are now studying the area to decide how to proceed. Mclean says heavy rains this fall have made things unstable and unpredictable.
"We do know that there is a warming trend where the temperatures are going to come up above zero again, which could pose more thawing and debris potentially coming down," he said.
"The whole hillside is saturated with water."