B.C. bridge vulnerable during heavy rain events, mayor says

Pemberton’s recent heavy flooding highlights the challenges the area faces, according to Mayor Mike Richman. 

The Village of Pemberton (VOP) declared a state of local emergency on Jan. 30 due to flooding, and many locals were displaced from their homes due to an evacuation order on Airport Road. 

The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) later issued an evacuation alert for 33 properties in Area C, citing “potential danger to life and safety.” 

At a council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 13, Richman said the Pemberton Creek Bridge poses a great weakness. 

The bridge is part of Highway 99, and crosses Pemberton Creek just southwest of the Village of Pemberton. Richman said he worries Pemberton residents only have one road to use to get out of the village during an evacuation order. 

He said Pemberton got lucky this time, but that shouldn’t be a reason for people to ignore evacuation orders or alerts in the future. 

“It’s often a difficult decision where staff put evacuation orders and alerts in place. It’s very much science-based,” he said. 

“I’m not trying to fearmonger and say that this could have been a whole lot worse, but I also don’t want people to become complacent when we put on alerts. We need to make sure people are prepared. When we put alerts out, it’s for a really good reason.” 

Richman said there was a great deal of attention on the village during the flooding, and he wants to use that momentum to help address some of the weaknesses in Pemberton’s infrastructure. 

“I took the opportunity to highlight on a provincial level the work we do with our partners with flood mitigation, as well as some of the challenges we have,” he said. “This rain event highlighted that we are vulnerable with the Pemberton Creek Bridge. It’s too low. It’s our one road in and it’s our one road out.” 

Richman said flooding like that in the middle of winter is a scary sign of things to come. The mayor believes the village needs to be more prepared than ever to face future extreme weather events in the Pemberton Valley. 

 “We were close. It could have been a lot worse,” he said. “The fact that we are getting this weather event in the middle of winter is crazy. It just shows that our level of preparedness has to be higher than it’s ever been. I would like to pursue that conversation now while there’s a bit of attention on us. Eyes were on us for a good reason and I’d like to use that momentum.” 

Richman also thanked staff for their efforts during the heavy flooding, stressing that lots of people “stepped up.” 

Feature image by iStock.com/AscentXmedia