Old Fort Road closed as ground movement reported at the site of a 2018 landslide

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Old Fort Road has been closed to all traffic after residents reported fresh ground movement within the area of the landslide that happened in 2018.

The Peace River Regional District has opened its Emergency Operations Centre after receiving reports of ground movement from residents.  The Ministry of Transportation and Transit has since shut the road in both directions.

There are no evacuation alerts or evacuation orders in place at this time. Residents of the Old Fort subdivision have been told to shelter in place until the road is reopened.

Dawson Road Maintenance and the Ministry of Transportation have said they will reassess the situation on Monday morning. Updates will be shared at prrd.bc.ca and on the Peace River Regional District Facebook page as they become available.

Road condition updates are available on DriveBC.

Residents can also report slide activity to local maintenance contractor Dawson Road Maintenance Ltd. at dawsonroadmaintenance.ca.

The first slide occurred overnight on September 29, 2018, when part of the hillside gave way. Residents were evacuated from their homes for more than a month while the slide continued to move. The 2018 slide occurred at a gravel mine.

The landslide reactivated in June 2020 after heavy rainfall.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.