One year later Johnsons Landing residents still under emergency order
By Nelson Daily Staff
One year after a landslide rumbled down Gar Creek Johnsons Landing residents are still trying to pick up the pieces of their shattered community.
“This has been a difficult year for those property owners, residents and the families affected by this devastating tragedy and we sympathize with their losses,” Andy Shadrack, Area D Director for the Regional District of Central Kootenay said in a written statement.
The devastating landslide that ripped through the tiny hamlet on at approximately 10 a.m. on July 12, 2012, took the lives of 60-year-old Valentine Webber and his daughters, 22-year-old Diana and 17-year-old Rachel.
The massive mudslide also claimed a fourth victim, 64-year-old German national Petra Frehse.
Mountains of log-studded debris remain piled as much as 10 metres deep around the shattered homes.
On the one-year anniversary the RDCK expresses its deepest sympathies to those impacted by this event.
RDCK Chair John R. Kettle said “a year later we are still under emergency order concerning Johnsons Landing.”
“This has been a monumental effort of coordination working with the Premier, Attorney General, and the Ministries of Health; Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations; Transportation and Infrastructure; Community, Sport and Cultural Development; and Environment. In addition, Emergency Management BC has been working with our local staff with a support effort nothing short of spectacular,” Kettle added.
Kettle said not everyone would be satisfied with the outcome of this situation.
“It may require a change in legislation to address situations like this in the future,” Kettle explained.
“That being said, we continue to treat this horrible event with the respect and reverence it demands. The Premier and Ministers have done everything they said they would do and then some; they have our sincere appreciation and thanks.”
Landing revealed that the slope has moved 15 centimetres since May, which is not alarming or unexpected.
However, in the interest of public safety, geotechnical engineers have recommended that the evacuation order remain in place pending further monitoring in mid-August.
The RDCK is in the process of examining the recommendations of the Johnsons Landing Geotechnical Report released in May and will make implementation recommendations in the coming months.
In the meantime, the RDCK and the Province continue to work with the affected property owners in the recovery process.
