If you're thinking of taking a drive to Farwell Canyon this weekend, you'll need to change your plans.
The popular tourist destination 70 kilometres west of Williams Lake is inside the area covered by evacuation orders the Cariboo Regional District issued Wednesday after a major landslide struck the Chilcotin River.
It also blocked off part of Canada's largest sockeye salmon run to Chilko Lake.
Along with a flood warning upstream of the landslide, the province's River Forecast Centre issued watches for the river downstream of the slide as well as for the Fraser River from the Chilcotin River confluence downstream to Hope, B.C.
A statement Wednesday from the provincial government said personnel from the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship are on the ground conducting assessments.
It said aerial support from the BC Wildfire Service is assisting with assessments and "further geotechnical assessments are underway to determine the level of risk downstream."
The province said several helicopters were dispatched to assist with search and rescue efforts in the area.
For more on the situation go to:
Massive B.C. landslide could mean new barriers for struggling salmon - Prince George Citizen
With files from The Canadian Press
