Lynn Headwaters Regional Park remained closed and detours were still in place for Grouse Mountain trails Monday following two winter storms that blew through the North Shore between Thursday night and Sunday morning.
Some areas of West Vancouver were soaked with over 125 millimetres of rain between the first rainstorm that hit Thursday night and the second storm on Saturday, while Mount Strachan registered about 160 mm of rain over the two systems, said Armel Castallan, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.
“It was quite a soaker for sure,” said Castallan.
Metro Vancouver crews had to deal with two significant washouts in Grouse Mountain Regional Park and Lynn Headwaters Regional Park.
Lynn Headwaters was closed after a tree came down Friday night, blocking the access road.
Heavy rainfall throughout the day Saturday resulted in “a series of new slides” across the access road, said Tom McComb, regional operations supervisor for Metro Vancouver parks.
Crews are still doing clean-up and standing by for geotechnical advice about the stability of trails further into the park, said McComb.
The Lower Lynn Loop is closed until further notice, following a washout about 700 metres up the trail.
“All of these trails are currently being assessed for damage and repair. We’re working as quickly as we can do to these repairs and hopefully we don’t sustain any more damage than we have,” he said.
Metro is asking the public to respect the park closures, both for their own safety and to ensure trails aren’t damaged further while they are still being assessed, said McComb.
Heavy rains in one of MacKay Creek’s tributaries also triggered a debris torrent across the Baden Powel Trail at its junction with the BCMC Trail. Metro staff set up a detour to allow hikers through which remained in place Monday. The slide slopped mud across the upper Grouse Mountain parking lot, but the resort is in the midst of a two-week shutdown to prepare for the winter season.
Before going out to any Metro Vancouver park, it’s a good idea to check the park’s website first, said McComb.
“There could be updates that we want to ensure the public hears about before they actually get to the site,” he said.
“We’re in fairly turbulent weather conditions. People should be prepared when they’re travelling in the backcountry or even the front country, for that matter,” he said.
The Grouse Mountain Skyride is also not operating for the next week, while the resort is closed for maintenance, so hikers need to plan for an extra two-hour return hike on the BCMC Trail, said McComb.
The District of West Vancouver, meanwhile, sustained damage in the British Properties and Ambleside on Thursday night after debris clogged culverts and drains.
Crews were also out in the District of North Vancouver inspecting culverts and debris barriers Thursday, said Stephanie Smiley, district spokeswoman.
In one spot in Grousewoods, crews removed six tandem dump trucks of rock, gravel and wood from a creek culvert inlet on Thursday night.
Smiley said the upgrades the municipality made to its culvert system following the dramatic Kilmer Creek flood in 2014 were important in preventing further flooding in the district.
