Road access restored to Old Fort, B.C., evacuation order lifted

Residents of a small town in northeastern B.C. are able to return home after they were forced out almost a month ago due to a slow-moving landslide.

The slide, a kilometre outside Old Fort, which is a 15 minute drive from Fort St. John, began Sept.30 and destroyedthe only road leading in and out.

All homes in Old Fort were evacuated Oct. 7, one week after the steep hillside above the community began to slump. The slide knockeddown power lines as it moved toward properties along the banks of the Peace River.

The community has about 30 homes and 200 residents.

On Sunday, the provincial government said a temporary road over the slide had been completed and that the evacuation order issued for residents had been lifted.

Resident Gord Pardysays it's been a long four weeks for him and his family, but he's happy to go back home.

"There's no place like home I'll tell you that. Sleep in my own bed, watch my TV show ...get up and just do your routine," he said Sunday.

No more mass evacuations please

Pardy said the experience has been difficult for communitymembers, many of whom believe the threat of the landslide wasoverstated and didn't justify their being forced from their homes.

"Tomorrow we're going to start asking the question 'why?' We'regoing to ask the question, what if something takes the road outagain? What is going to be the plan? Because the plan can't be amass evacuation again."

Pardysays the slide destroyed one home in the community.

The province's transportation minister said she understands the situation was stressful for people who live there.

"I would like to thank the residents of Old Fort for their patience during this difficult time, and the crews who worked hard to get the road built so swiftly," said Claire Trevenain a release.

Monitoring system in place

Crews have put a monitoring system in place to track groundmovements in the area.

The road, which officials describe assteep and narrow, is open to local traffic but has a speed limit of 30 kilometres per hour and 15 kilometres per hour around curves.

Pardy has already driven it.

"It's pretty narrow and there's a steep hill and it's really down to one lane traffic right now, so the road is a bit of a challenge."

Residents are asked to report any signs of slide movement or incidents to the local maintenance contractor, Yellowhead Road and Bridge.

The companycan be reached at1-888-883-6688.

With files from the Canadian Press.