Flooding forces evacuation, closure in B.C. provincial park 

The Conrad Kain Hut in Bugaboo Provincial Park. (BC Parks/Destination BC)

Flooding has forced the evacuation and partial closure of Bugaboo Provincial Park, a rugged and mountainous area popular with hikers and rock climbers, in southeastern British Columbia.

More than 60 people were airlifted from the East Kootenay park due to the flooding on Sunday, according to the Alpine Club of Canada and a local search-and-rescue group.

Columbia Valley Search and Rescue says in a social media post that all hikers and climbers were safely removed from the core area of the park with assistance from a local helicopter operator.

The Alpine Club of Canada says a glacier that was holding back the lake water may have partially collapsed, causing the flood.

Jordy Shepherd, a Columbia Valley Search and Rescue member and vice-president of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, says the water level in the glacial lake has dropped by about five metres since the flooding started.

The meltwater lake typically drains through a channel on the opposite side, and its predictable course doesn’t raise concerns for those on the mountain, Shepherd said in an interview Thursday.

“It’s now flowing in the opposite direction, essentially, to where it has historically been an outflow for that lake,” the rescuer said. “And so now it’s coming down in a different channel… carving down and pulling a lot of dirt and silt with it.”

The province has closed approximately 250 hectares of the park, which includes the Bugaboo Spires Trail and the Conrad Kain Hut Trail, as well as the Applebee Dome Campground and the Boulder Campground, due to the flooding.

“Until flooding subsides and Parks staff are able to assess residual hazards and damage done to facilities, the entire core Area of Bugaboo Park, including the Kain Hut Trail, is closed,” BC Parks said in an advisory.

Areas of the park outside the closure zone remain open to visitors. The closure will remain in effect until further notice.

“Any users of the closure area within Bugaboo Provincial Park during this closure are in trespass under the Trespass Act,” according to a BC Parks order issued Sunday.

The provincial parks ministry says Bugaboo Provincial Park’s steep, granite spires attract climbers from around the world.

“With many peaks over 3,000 metres, the Bugaboos offer awe-inspiring mountain and glacier terrain,” the ministry says.