A woman in Metro Vancouver was rescued Friday after a routine waterline fix turned into her being swept down a waterfall. District of North Vancouver Fire Rescue Services was called to Sasamat Lane in the Woodlands area of Deep Cove at around 12:47 p.m. for a water rescue. According to assistant chief Dennis Cappellini, crews performed a high-angle rope rescue and successfully rescued the individual without injury. “Crews faced challenging conditions including to slippery terrain, unstable rocks, and a tree that fell during the operation,” he said, in a statement to CTV News. The rescuee identified herself in response to DNVFRS’s Facebook post and expressed her gratitude to the crews who saved her. “You literally saved my life,” she wrote. “I was trying to get our waterline fixed for our house, as our neighbourhood does not have municipal water, and this could have turned out a lot differently.” In a social media post after the rescue, the woman said she was “still processing how close today was.” “What started as a quick fix on our waterline ended with me getting swept down a waterfall, pulled under multiple times, and stranded on a log against a sheer bank with nowhere to go,” she said. “I owe my life to the crew at District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue. The power of these creeks right now is no joke; what looks manageable on the surface will take your feet right out from under you.” DNVFRS urged locals to stay well back, keep children and pets away from fast-moving water, and refrain from entering moving water to retrieve a pet or object. “Heavy rainfall, especially after a long period of dry weather, can cause creeks and streams to rise much faster than normal,” Cappellini said. “In addition to water levels changing rapidly, the creek banks may be more unstable than usual due to the erosion and saturation caused by fast moving water.” Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning heading into Friday and predicted that up to 80 millimetres of precipitation would fall throughout the day, with the North Shore among areas expected to see the most. Rainfall warnings remain in place in Metro Vancouver, with Environment Canada projecting that a low-pressure system bound for B.C.’s South Coast will produce another 50 millimetres of rain over the weekend. “Water will likely pool on roads and in low-lying areas. Landslides may occur in vulnerable areas such as steep slopes, deforested areas or recent burn scars. Watch for washouts near rivers, creeks and culverts,” the warning reads. CTV News has contacted the rescuee for further comment on the incident.
