Meeting planned to discuss Old Fort, B.C., future after landslide

From April 24: There are more safety concerns over a landslide in northeastern B.C., where a new evacuation alert was issued Friday.

FORT ST. JOHN — The B.C. member of the legislature representing Old Fort, the community where a landslide has forced people from their homes, says he’ll be meeting with constituents to discuss options for the future, including asking the province to buy their properties.

Jordan Keeley says he’ll be holding a town-hall meeting in Fort St. John, near Old Fort, where a landslide has shifted the only road in and out more than 100 metres, forcing an evacuation order on April 20.

This is the third landslide to hit Old Fort and its approximately 150 residents since 2018, and Keeley says he needs to understand how community members want to proceed.

The latest update from the province says the slide, which covers about 400 metres, has shifted the road 104 metres downslope and that new ground cracking has been observed near the top.

The update posted Wednesday says slide material has accumulated upslope of the road, which could mean “future acceleration” as the slope comes back into balance.

Keeley says one option for the future could be to build a new road, which would likely come with a hefty price tag, or the government could buy residents out, because they wouldn’t be able to sell their properties.

“There’s different options, but I think right now, the option of them being left out of their homes and having to stay in hotels or other places, I think that’s unacceptable,” Keeley says.

A 2021 government report on alternative routes into the community of Old Fort concluded that the best option at the time was to continue using the existing road while conducting further geotechnical assessments.

The update from the province says there is no timeline for when the landslide will stabilize.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2026