Road to Telegraph Creek, B.C., partially reopened after rock slide

The road to Telegraph Creek, B.C., is in use again, but only for certain vehicles duringlimited hours.

The roadwas completely closed for nearly a weekafter a large rock slideburied partof it on Nov. 5. It happened about 19 kilometres from the small community, where the road hugs a steep slope above a river.

The debris has been partially cleared, allowing four-wheel drive trucks and SUVs to get throughduring limited hours. On Wednesday, passage was restricted to 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"That is day-to-day and can change at any time," said Tahltan Band Council Chief Rick Mclean, about the scheduled road openings.

"There's a lot of debris that is still loose and unstable above the road ...the meter-and-a-half that's on the road that they're driving over right now is basically holding the rest of it from coming down."

Mclean says larger trucks still can't get to Telegraph Creek, and it's not clear when they might. He says it hasn't been a major issue yet, as there's enough fuel on hand for several more weeks.

A grocery truck was expected Wednesday. Mclean said the cargo would be loaded onto smaller vehicles to get through the rock slide area.

"We're definitely working on a plan to make sure that we have a passage for medical emergencies, prescriptions, food, the fuel supplies so it's all in the works, and we will manage through it, I guess, until we have a long-term solution."

Mclean says engineers from the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure are now studying the area to decide how to proceed. Mcleansays heavy rainsthis fall havemade things unstable and unpredictable.

"We do know that there is a warming trend where the temperatures are going to come up above zero again, which could pose more thawing and debris potentially coming down," he said.

"The whole hillside is saturated with water."