As the B.C. coast continues to be hammered by torrential rains from an atmospheric river, several people were evacuated Thursday by helicopter from their homes in the north end of Coquitlam after a mudslide hit the area.
Two people at a property hit by the mudslide just after 5:35 a.m. needed to be evacuated and residents from another three homes decided to evacuate because the only road access was cut off, said Chris Fox, deputy fire chief of the City of Coquitlam Fire and Rescue.
At least six people and a dog were brought to safety by helicopter.
No one was injured.
Volunteer members of Coquitlam Search and Rescue used a helicopter long line to evacuate the residents from the homes along a forested stretch of Pipeline Road, north of the Upper Coquitlam River Park near Metro Vancouver’s Coquitlam water treatment plant.
“In theory, we could have walked them out. But it’s such an unstable debris field that put people potentially in harm’s way,” said Fox.
The mudslide that carried with it trees, stumps and rocks spread out over Pipeline Road for about 75 metres. It looked like a release of some sort in a creek on the slopes to the west of the road, noted Fox, who had taken a helicopter flight to view the damage.
He said the property that had been impacted by the mudslide had a couple of large trees that looked to have reached the back of the house.
Two industrial properties were also impacted.
Michelle Frilund, director of communications for the City of Coquitlam, said in an email that officials aren’t
sure about the cause of the mudslide, and won’t fully know until they receive the geotechnical report.
In the past several years, B.C. has been hit by a series of atmospheric rivers, large plumes of moisture from tropical storms carried across the Pacific Ocean, including one in 2021 that caused billions of dollars in damage and forced the evacuation of thousands of people. Scientists have forecast they will i
ncrease in frequency and severity.
The heavy rains have triggered landslides, and mud and debris flows in the past.
In October 2024, a Port Moody teacher was killed when
by a debris flow following heavy rains from an atmospheric river. Her home was in
a remote forested area north of Minnekhada Regional Park, where the debris flow brought down trees, rocks and other material.
Other areas in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley have also been hit by landslides and debris flows triggered by atmospheric rivers. That includes
, where
a local state of emergency was declared
Thursday.
One looming question is how can homeowners and prospective buyers learn more about increasing landslide and mudflow risks, covered in a Postmedia News report to be published Saturday.
Coquitlam Fire and Rescue led the evacuation operation in Coquitlam and search and rescue crews assisted after the slide hit the 900-block of Pipeline Road area. The area is primarily industrial with concrete and extraction pits, but there are rural homes nearby.
The City of Coquitlam has closed northbound access to Pipeline Road at Galette Avenue, about 10 kilometres south of the slide, and asks the public to avoid the area until further notice.
B.C. Hydro said crews have restored electricity to about 5,000 households after the slide downed power lines. Another 20 homes remain without power. Hydro said unstable ground is preventing crews from reaching the damaged area. A geotechnical team has been dispatched to the site.
Full service might not be restored until late Thursday or Friday morning.
The mudslide comes as
from a stalled
pummel Metro. About 84 millimetres of rain fell in Coquitlam in the 24 hours before the slide, said Environment Canada, with a total accumulation of nearly 200 millimetres since the storm started Monday. Coquitlam is expected to get close to another 100 millimetres before the rain tapers off Friday.
The weather agency upgraded its rainfall warning for the north and northeast section of Metro from yellow, the lowest, to orange, which indicates severe weather likely to cause significant damage and have major, widespread impacts.
A mudslide has shut down Pipeline Road in Coquitlam and cut off power to about 5,000 households (Photo from Twitter/@BCHydro)
Volunteer members of Coquitlam Search and Rescue used a helicopter to rescue several residents who were trapped on Pipeline Road in Coquitlam on Thursday, March 19, 2026.https://twitter.com/bchydro/status/2034684426785853830
