VIDEO: Big repairs ahead after massive slide severs Westside Road

There are going to be some big detours for people to access the Westside Road area.

A section of the road, about 50 metres in length, has been swept away by a landslide, cutting off traffic in both directions.

The slide came down just after 9:30 last night.

It came down between Browse Road and Bear Creek Trail.

That's about a three-minute drive north of the former Lake Okanagan Resort.

"The majority of it, there is debris on the top," said North Westside Fire Chief Ross Kotscherofski.

"But part of Westside Road is eroded."

According to Kotscherofski, even if the area was deemed stable, there is no way for traffic to get through at the moment.

"Ministry of transportation is on scene," he said, "and they'll be working on it as soon as it's safe."

The update from Kotscherofski comes after a search to make sure that there weren't any people impacted by the mudslide.

"When we first arrived at the scene, there was a report that somebody could be camping in the area," said Kotscherofski.

So far search efforts haven't turned up anything to support that theory.

"At first light this morning we went up in a helicopter, they flew the drone again, and it still does not look like there's somebody down there," he said.

"But currently, C.O.S.A.R. is going to search the area just to make sure."

Just how long it's going to take before traffic will be able to get through.

"It's hard to say," said Kotscherofski, "until they actually get in there."

The area of the slide was significantly impacted by the 2023 McDougall Creek Wildfire which may have impacted slope stability.

The circumstances prompted the Emergency Operations Centre to put out a warning to people living in wildfire-affected properties and waterways.

"...to monitor for irregularities, particularly during a rainfall event."

Residents are asked to watch out for:

• Sudden changes in stream flow.
• Rapid changes or pulses in flow (e.g. changes in volume) or pulses of sediment (e.g. from clear to murky).
• Abnormally dirty water.
• Blocked culverts impeding water flow.
• Accumulation of large logs or debris.
• Rapid accumulation of sediment or bed-load along a flat section of a creek channel.
• Tension cracks near the top of the slope.
• Falling rocks or boulders or flowing or sliding soil.