Up to 500 people are trapped at Sasquatch Mountain Resort near Agassiz, B.C., after a landslide cut off access to and from the ski hill Friday night.
The slide came down around 9:30 p.m. on Hemlock Valley Road between Snowmist Drive and the point two kilometres south of the resort, leaving the road impassable in both directions.
Shelby Lim, the resort’s marketing and communications director, said the mountain was especially busy because of the Sasquatch Club racing event planned for this weekend.
“We were expecting close to 250 extra families on the mountain,” she said, adding many of those families came up to the mountain Friday afternoon before the landslide happened.
More than 200 racers were also anticipated to take part in the event, but many have been unable to make it up the mountain now.
Lim said the resort’s cafeteria and restaurant remain open and are serving food and beverages. She added staff are working to ensure everyone’s comfort and safety while they hunker down for what could be a long wait.
“I don’t think [the road reopening] is happening anytime before tomorrow, for sure,” she said. “I always like to be optimistic, but I really can’t speak to it.”
The road is owned by the Ministry of Transportation, which Lim says has sent a geotechnical team to assess the road and determine how long before crews clear the debris. There’s also the matter of repairing the section of road that has been damaged.
Global News has reached out to the ministry for comment.
Other people whose families are trapped tell Global News they’re hearing the resort could remain isolated for up to five days.
Lim is hopeful some access can be restored soon, as emergency services also remain out of reach.
“With the road being washed out, if there’s any kind of accident, injury or anything like that, then we’re not able to get anyone up here,” she said.
“So for the safety of our guests, we’re unable to continue our operations at this time until the road gets back open.”
The landslide came down as heavy rains pounded the Fraser Valley and the rest of the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island Friday, which lasted into Saturday morning.
Environment Canada says the Agassiz area received 97 millimetres of rain between Thursday afternoon and early Saturday.
Several other roads have been flooded or washed out across the South Coast, with other landslides blocking major highways including parts of Highway 1 and the Coquihalla Highway.
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