KASLO, B.C. — The threat of further mudslides has forced the evacuation of residents from 47 homes in the southeastern B.C., community of Kaslo.
A spokeswoman for the Regional District of Central Kootenay said no one has been hurt and the slide that came down on the hillside near the homes was small.
Emergency operations centre spokeswoman Brownwen Bird said the order was issued late Monday night following the mudslide on the west side of Kootenay Lake, about 720 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.
"They were unable to get geotechnical staff up there before it got dark, so out of caution we decided to issue a state of local emergency and an evacuation order to get those residents out of there," she said.
A reception centre has been set up for affected residents and Bird said it was too early to say when they might be allowed to return to their homes.
Bird said a fly over of the slide area was scheduled to take place Tuesday to assess the situation.
An unrelated mudslide also cut off access along Highway 1 between Salmon Arm and Sicamous in the Shuswap region during a heavy rainstorm Monday evening.
Several vehicles were caught when debris came down over the highway, but no one was hurt.
An advisory on the Drive BC website says there's no indication when the section of Highway 1 will reopen but a detour is available via highways 97A and 97B.
