At least one person has been killed in the mudslide north of Pemberton B.C. Monday and the search continues for more possible victims.
One of the people caught up in the slide was Global BC cameraman Mike Timbrell.
He was returning to Vancouver from his cabin in the 100 Mile House area when he was stopped along Highway 99-Duffey Lake Road.
“I started up the road and there were numerous slides with rocks and boulders where you’d have to swerve in the other lane to get around,” he said.
“The road was quite dodgy in the beginning.”
He came around a bend and was stopped in a line of traffic. He thought he had gotten through the worst of it.
Get breaking National news
Timbrell said he could see people getting out of their vehicles and looking at something around the corner. He didn’t know if another slide had happened.
As people started walking back, Timbrell said he heard a “loud, terrifying roar.
“This roar came and it hit my truck and there were trees flying. I had my seatbelt on. I took it off and laid on the floor of my truck. My truck was moving all over, getting hammered by trees. I thought I was a gonner.”
Timbrell said it finally stopped and he managed to get out of the passenger door and run.
“I turned around and looked at my truck and it was half-buried and all the cars that were on the road and all the people, they were just gone.
- IBC estimates $230M in insured damage claimed from Edmonton storms
- Calgary area ‘very uniquely situated’ for study of hailstorms, says researcher
- Saskatchewan boosts disaster aid in response to storm-packed spring and summer
- Flooding damage closes Telus World of Science for months, 68% of staff laid off
“Gone.”
Read more: One woman dead, others missing, after mudslide sweeps cars off highway north of Pemberton, B.C.
Timbrell thought something would have come smashing through his window and he was just covering his head, praying he was going to survive.
As he stood there, looking at the devastation, a woman came along and yelled at him to get into the passenger seat.
“She saved me. Got me out and drove me down to the police station when I let them know what I saw,” he said.
“I couldn’t believe it, it was almost like, in the blink of an eye, there were roads, there were cars, there was people, and then bang, everything was gone, just gone. Not a sign of a car, not a wheel, just trees and mud. It was all you could see.”
Timbrell said he is so sorry for the other people involved as search efforts continue.
“There was a roar and it slammed. There was just no stopping it.”
-
![]()
B.C. floods: Deputy premier discusses provincial disaster plan as mudslides shut down major highways -
![]()
B.C. floods: Canada Task Force 1 discuss massive rescue effort for trapped motorists on highway -
![]()
B.C. floods: Hundreds evacuated to safety but dozens more stranded in the Agassiz mudslides -
![]()
B.C. floods: Growing concerns over people who may have been swept away by mudslides -
![]()
B.C. floods: Helicopter rescues begin for about 275 people trapped between mudslides near Agassiz -
![]()
Heavy search and rescue teams rescue people trapped in their cars following B.C. mudslides -
![]()
Dozens of travellers left stranded on B.C. roads after heavy rain, mudslides
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.