Aerial video of B.C. landslide is ‘overwhelming’, ’emotional,’ says First Nation’s chief

Chief Willie Sellars of the Williams Lake First Nation flew over the Chilcotin River landslide and said it's only a matter of time before the debris starts to move.

A B.C. First Nation’s chief got an aerial view of the Chilcotin River landslide on Thursday and said it is an overwhelming sight.

Chief Willie Sellars of the Williams Lake First Nation told Global News that it is only a matter of time before movement starts happening on the slide.

“The weight, the sheer magnitude of it is really, you know, it’s breathtaking,” he said.

“And I’ve said it before, it’s emotional almost seeing it, just the impact that it’s having on the mental health and wellness of Indigenous peoples in the region, but also non-Indigenous people as well. I mean, it’s something.”

On Wednesday, a landslide blocked the Chilcotin River, which feeds into the Fraser River. The landslide is approximately 22 kilometres upstream from the Farwell Canyon Bridge and is estimated to be roughly 600 to 800 metres in length, 300 to 600 metres in width and roughly 30 metres in depth.

The landslide has dammed the Chilcotin River and water is pooling behind the debris. It is estimated that the water has backed up behind the dam approximately eight kilometres up the river. The material blocking the river is composed of sands, silts and clays, which are susceptible to rapid erosion, according to the provincial government.

Sellars said previous natural disasters has prepared the nation for the landslide, as best as they can prepare anyway.

“The immediate response is people’s health and wellness, the mental health and wellness of those people,” he said.