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The Sea to Sky Highway will remain closed overnight after a landslide Saturday morning.
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Drive B.C. issued an update around 9:15 p.m. saying that crews had begun clearing debris from the highway but that it would remain closed overnight with an estimated reopening of 9 a.m. on Sunday.
The large slide came down on to the Sea to Sky Highway shortly before 11 a.m., with trees and debris strewn across the road just north of Lions Bay between Lions Bay Avenue and Brunswick Beach Road.
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Journalist Stuart McNish was in the area and said trees were stacked on top of each other across the highway, adding that cars were being turned away. Ambulances were on scene.
Emergency responders are still at the scene trying to determine if there was any damage to property or any injuries. So far no injuries have been reported.
As the highway is the route to Whistler, the closure affects weekend travellers.
There is an alternate route through Lillooet and Lytton for people stuck on the north side of the slide who want to get back to the Lower Mainland, according to RCMP.
No other detours are available and North Shore Rescue staff are urging drivers not to go by what Google Maps is showing as a detour through the Coquitlam Watershed. There is no public access that way, according to NSR.
“Please do not take it,” NSR says in a social media post. “The ‘alternative route’ consists of rough, likely snow-covered gravel, forestry roads, and most importantly goes through the closed, non-public access gated Coquitlam Watershed.”
Anyone travelling tonight, however, should check Drive B.C. for current road conditions as there are several snowfall warnings in effect from Environment Canada, including one for the Sea to Sky Highway and the Coquihalla between Hope and Merritt.
Whistler officials have set up an emergency reception centre at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler for people stranded by the landslide. People can head to 4599 Chateau Blvd. in the Upper Village. Parking is available in day lot 5 but is limited.
Drivers stuck south of the slide can head to the Lions Gate Community and Recreation Centre, 1733 Lions Gate Ln. in North Vancouver. Overnight lodging is available at the centre.
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