Squamish RCMP say two people died and one remains missing after a boating incident north of Vancouver during elevated water levels and challenging weather.
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Squamish RCMP say they were called at about 1:52 p.m. Thursday about a boating incident in the Squamish Valley, north of Vancouver. The police said elevated water levels and challenging weather conditions made search and any recovery efforts extremely difficult and unsafe.
RCMP said the search continues Friday.
“The weather and river conditions have played a significant role in the response efforts,” Cpl. Ashley MacKay of the Squamish RCMP said in a release.
MacKay added that the incident is “a very dynamic and evolving incident” and that safety for responders and the public remains paramount as weather patterns, water levels and river conditions are assessed throughout search and recovery efforts.
She said the public is being asked to stay off the water due to dangerous flow rates and debris throughout the river systems.
The Valley’s flooding response is unfolding alongside the incident. On Wednesday afternoon, the Village of Pemberton issued an evacuation order for properties on Airport Road, which includes the community’s airport, wastewater treatment facility, wildland fire management base and a public golf course, citing flooding and “high-risk river levels.”
On Wednesday night, Electoral Area C and the village were put under an evacuation alert, with residents told to shelter in place. Lilʼwat Nation expanded an evacuation order and alert for the area from Kwetsa7 along the Lillooet River corridor to Lillooet Lake, and the province’s River Forecast Centre had placed the Sea-to-Sky corridor and Pemberton Valley under a flood warning on Thursday before downgrading it Friday morning.
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