Mt Currie Landslide Hazard Assessment and Risk Analysis

For more information:

Sarah Morgan
SLRD Emergency Program Manager
Email: smorgan@slrd.bc.ca
Telephone: (604) 698-6442

Jan 18, 2018
Electoral Area C, Village of Pemberton

The Mount Currie Landslide Risk Assessment (“Assessment”) is now complete.

The Assessment, conducted by BGC Engineering Inc. (“BGC”), was conducted to determine landslide and associated flood risk from the north face of Mount Currie, including risk to life, buildings, critical facilities, business activities, power and communication lines.

The Assessment has confirmed areas of instability that could result in small rockfall events and rare, but large-scale rock slope failures. 

Due to Mount Currie’s size and the number of source zones for rockfalls, the Assessment states that engineered mitigation options are not feasible. 

As a result, BGC has recommended monitoring as the most practical and cost-effective approach to risk management. The Assessment also recommends that land use be restricted in part or all of the areas modeled for rock avalanches, as any increase in development density would increase the population at risk.

Download the full report

Community Information Meetings

Please join Elected Officials and staff from Líl’wat Nation, Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) and Village of Pemberton at one of two Community Information Meetings. 

Each meeting will include a presentation by BGC Engineering, followed by a Question and Answer session.

Meeting Details:

  • Wednesday, January 24, 2018 (6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) at the Pemberton & District Community Centre 
  • Thursday, January 25, 2018 (6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) at Ull’us Community Complex

To ensure that as many questions as possible can be answered at these sessions, community members are encouraged to review the Assessment and submit their questions prior to the meetings to one of the community contacts noted below:

All of the questions and answers brought forward at the meeting will be incorporated into the Frequently Asked Questions document linked above. 

A copy of BGC Engineering’s presentation from the Community Information Meetings will be available for viewing on this web page, as soon as it becomes available. 

Next Steps

Elected Officials from Líl’wat Nation, SLRD and Village of Pemberton met on January 18, 2018 to review the Assessment with BGC engineers and have agreed to continue joint advocacy efforts to secure funding for further studies and monitoring systems, as recommended in the Assessment. 

On a staff level, Emergency Program Managers will integrate this new information into existing emergency management plans. 

The SLRD will update this page as more information becomes available. 

Project Background

Observed rock fall from Mt Currie has increased in the past few years, and was confirmed by an initial Information Note, "2016 Mount Currie Rock Fall and Local Instabilities," prepared by engineering staff from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (MFLNRORD) in October 2016. The Information Note identified concerns regarding potential instability along the Mt Currie Ridge and the subsequent potential impacts to Pemberton Valley residents. 

The Information Note states that "although rock falls of the recent size do not pose a risk to valley residents, the exposure of larger volumes of unsupported bedrock potentially could result in rock fall events that do pose a risk to valley residents." Given this, MFLNRORD recommended that a detailed analysis be undertaken to determine the potential types and size of landsides that might occur, and to determine the actual risk to the public. 

Shortly after receiving the Information Note, officials from the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD), Village of Pemberton and LÍl'wat Nation requested funding from the Province to move forward immediately on the report's recommendation to secure a more detailed geo-technical analysis to quantify the hazard, evaluate the risk, and recommend potential risk reduction options. 

Funding for the study was confirmed in early December 2016, and a multi-agency steering committee with representatives from the SLRD, Village of Pemberton, Líl'wat Nation, EMBC and MFLNRORD was convened shortly thereafter. On February 3, 2017 the SLRD, acting as an agent for and under the authority of the Province of B.C., issued a Request for Proposals regarding the work, and BGC Engineering was selected by the Steering Committee to conduct the work.

The project included kinematic rock analysis, landslide runout modelling and both quantitative and qualititative risk assessment parameters to the standards set out by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C. A review of existing data on Mt Currie was conducted and field survey work, including aerial, ground and seismic surveys.

Background information and resources

 

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