‘They’re used to it’: says Old Fort resident about evacuation due to the landslide

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. —  An Old Fort resident believes that residents in Old Fort are used to the evacuation due to the landslide. 

An emergency evacuation alert was issued by the Peace River Regional District (PRRD) at approximately 7.30 p.m. on April 20, asking residents in Old Fort to prepare to evacuate “immediately” due to a landslide posing a “significant risk to life” on Old Fort Road. 

Kelly Ziebart, a resident of Old Fort, said: “I think they’re used to it. Because there’s [been] two slides previously, in 2018 and 2020, so I think more people are used to the slide. I think they’re more able to deal with it.” 

Ziebart said he is curious what the reason for the new slide is. 

“Is it from just all of the moisture from all of our winter snow pack melting or is it something else?,” he asked. “I think they [The Ministry of Transportation and Transit] have to study that before they can really say anything. That means you get engineers involved, start studying the earth and go from there.” 

Ziebart has not evacuated from Old Fort, even though his property was included in the evacuation order. 

“My driveway is on the town side of the slide, so I still have access to my property, even though the slide does go through my property,” he explained. “I can still supply myself with water, fuel  and any utilities that I require. My wife, my daughter and I still live at home and I can travel to town back and forth.” 

Ziebart also alleged that he did not receive the evacuation alert that came on April 20th at approximately 7.30 p.m. 

He said: “We had a phone call a couple hours before it happened…from some private individuals saying the evacuation order was going to go in place at nine o’clock.” 

Jordan Kealy, MLA for Peace River North, said he had met with the Minister of Transportation and Transit, Mike Farnworth, to discuss the Old Fort Landslide.

“He [Minister Mike Farnworth] did mention that the slide is currently moving and MOTT [Ministry of Transportation and Transit] is monitoring the slide,” he said. “Once it gets to the point where they can assess the hillside, that’s where they can formulate a plan of what to do.” 

Kealy believes the situation right now is “difficult” due to the amount of water runoff in the region. 

When asked if he had a message for the people in Old Fort, he said: “My heart goes out to them for what they’re going through.” 

“It’s so unfortunate when it comes to the infrastructure in our region that we do not get the money we should for being able to maintain our roads, highways and bridges.”