Questions loom as RCMP probe into fatal Lions Bay landslide continues

BC0116_LIONSBAY01

The tragic events of Dec. 14 still loom large over the Village of Lions Bay.

It was on that day longtime residents David and Barbara Enns were killed when their home was swept away in a landslide.

While the village’s mountain location makes it vulnerable to landslides, one expert said it usually takes more severe weather that the area was experiencing last month.

“It was a little surprising we got a debris flow,” said John Clauge, SFU earth sciences professor emeritus.

Clauge said it typically takes more than 100 millimetres of rain to trigger a slide, but noted there was also a strong wind event known as a “bomb cyclone” at the time.

“It was strong in the Howe Sound,” he said.

Sea to Sky RCMP have launched an investigation into the landslide, which Clague said is very rare.

“Normally these things have the hand of nature all over them,” he added.

“But when people may be involved in triggering a debris flow then they get interested.”

Some residents have raised questions about what was going on upstream of Battani Creek, north of the Enns’ home.

A reservoir and dam are located within the area of a proposed Lions Point Elite Homes development owned by entrepreneur Steve Vestergaard.

Project documents obtained by CTV News state that a large amount of blasting had been done in the area.

CTV News reached out to both Vestergaard and Lions Bay Ken Berry but have not heard back.

Police have not shared any details of their investigation, nor have they accused anyone of any wrongdoing.

The B.C. Conservatives have now spoken out on the matter, saying their NDP counterparts should take some accountability.

“They’re not really taking an active approach here to address the issues,” said Macklin McCall, shadow minister of emergency management.

He pointed to a 2008 coroner’s report into the death of a North Vancouver woman in a landslide, which included several recommendations to the province.

“It’s too little, too late – a couple people lost their lives here as a result of these recommendations from 16 years ago not being implemented,” said McCall.

In a statement to CTV News, Minister of Water, Land and Resources Stewardship Randene Neill said: “I cannot comment as to why the government at the time, which John Rustad was a cabinet member of, did not act on the coroner’s report almost 20 years ago, but we are reviewing it. “

“So far, our government has funded $369 million in climate change preparedness and mitigation projects,” Neill added.