Residents in a Port Coquitlam subdivision below the Mary Hill Bypass are keeping a wary eye on the hillside above them after a landslide Sunday afternoon deposited mud, debris and snapped trees close to several backyards.
Susan Ray, the vice-president of The Quarry strata at the east end of Argue Street, said her phone started “lighting up” between 1 and 2 p.m. Sunday with calls from nervous neighbours after a section of the bluff gave way during heavy rains that fell through the weekend.
Ray said emergency services attended the scene as well as officials from the City of Port Coquitlam, Ministry of Transportation and Transit and a geotechnical engineer.
A ministry spokesperson confirmed the slide occurred on its property, adding its maintenance contractor also attended and performed a coordinated assessment of the site with the city and its engineer.
“The ministry and its maintenance contractor is monitoring the area closely,” said the spokesperson.
Joshua Frederick, Port Coquitlam's director of engineering and public works, said there was actually two separate slides within 20 minutes of each other. They affected an area about 50-60 metres wide and the debris field came within five metres of the back fence at one property.
He said the city's mobile emergency operations centre was activated to support its response.
"The city continues to monitor the situation closely and will provide further updates to the residents as they become available," said Frederick.
Ray said residents were reassured the risk of further landslide activity was “low to moderate,” adding, “we’re not sure if more is still coming down. They’re all very concerned.”
Late Monday morning, city work crews were erecting screens along a culvert at the foot of the hillside to protect it from silt.
Ray said residents of the strata have always kept watch on the cliff, “waiting for something to happen.”
More rain is expected through the week, after a brief respite on Tuesday.
Video produced by Alanna Kelly
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