Sections of road destroyed by slide, cutting access to northeastern B.C. community

A slow moving landslide is seen inching down a hillside in northern British Columbia, prompting the evacuation of nearby Old Fort, B.C., in an undated handout photo. (The Canadian Press / Handout / B.C. Ministry of Forests and Lands / Marten Geertsema)

FORT ST. JOHN — A landslide in a northeastern British Columbia community that triggered an evacuation order earlier this week has cut off road access in and out.

An update from the Peace River Regional District says sections of Old Fort Road have now been destroyed by the active landslide, and there’s “no safe access to or from the community” about five kilometres south of Fort St. John.

Residents who were not able to leave after an evacuation order was issued late Monday have been asked to shelter in a safe place and conserve essential supplies, as “emergency services and essential resources are unable to reach Old Fort” at this time.

The regional district says the site of the slide is “extremely unstable and still actively moving,” and the provincial Ministry of Transportation continues to monitor the situation.

The slide happened in an area where a landslide in 2018 also forced an evacuation.

The district’s emergency operations centre has said that their experience from the previous slide indicates it may take weeks for the terrain beneath the access road to stabilize, and the situation is “rapidly evolving.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2026.