Highway 8, also known as the Nicola Highway, runs through a rural stretch of B.C.’s Southern Interior. In November, an atmospheric river dumped a month’s worth of rain on the region over a span of two days, triggering flooding that caused enormous damage. Both Highway 8 and the Nicola River, which it parallels, were hit hard.
Along the Nicola corridor, hundreds of residents were displaced. Many are left wondering when - or if - life will return to normal.
Highway 8 was part of
the first automobile route
connecting B.C.’s Lower
Mainland with Alberta.
The cliff-hugging ribbon
of road follows the Nicola
River for 69 kilometers,
from Spences Bridge
south to Merritt.
The sensational twisties
— and frequent elk and
bighorn sheep sightings
— make this writhing
route a favourite among
motorcycle enthusiasts.
But the roadway
suffered catastrophic
damage during the
November 15 storm.
This aerial photography was shot
on November 26. It shows how the
river tore away at the highway as,
swollen with rain, it punched a new,
more direct route to the Thompson
River to the northwest.
Bridges lie slumped over
deep crevices. Great chunks
of asphalt appear to have
been swallowed whole.
B.C. Hydro says it lost
87 power poles and 14
transformers. Four
bridges were destroyed.
The B.C. Ministry of
Transportation has
completed some repairs,
but much work remains
to be done.
Some residents have already been able
to return, but they are aware that their
stay may not be permanent: the landscape
has forever changed, and the next storm
may not be long in coming. The spring melt,
which is just weeks away, is keeping many
up at night.
Highway 8 was part of
the first automobile route
connecting B.C.’s Lower
Mainland with Alberta.
The cliff-hugging ribbon of
road follows the Nicola River
for 69 kilometers, from
Spences Bridge south
to Merritt.
The sensational twisties —
and frequent elk and bighorn
sheep sightings — make this
writhing route a favourite among
motorcycle enthusiasts.
But the roadway suffered
catastrophic damage during
the November 15 storm.
This aerial photography was
shot on November 26. It shows
how the river tore away at the
highway as, swollen with rain, it
punched a new, more direct route
to the Thompson River to
the northwest.
Bridges lie slumped over
deep crevices. Great chunks
of asphalt appear to have
been swallowed whole.
B.C. Hydro says it lost 87
power poles and 14
transformers. Four bridges
were destroyed.
The B.C. Ministry of
Transportation has
completed some repairs,
but much work remains
to be done.
Some residents have already
been able to return, but they
are aware that their stay may
not be permanent: the landscape
has forever changed, and the
next storm may not be long in
coming. The spring melt, which is
just weeks away, is keeping
many up at night.
Highway 8 was part of the first
automobile route connecting
B.C.’s Lower Mainland with Alberta.
The cliff-hugging ribbon of
road follows the Nicola River
for 69 kilometers, from
Spences Bridge south
to Merritt.
The sensational twisties —
and frequent elk and bighorn
sheep sightings — make this
writhing route a favourite among
motorcycle enthusiasts.
But the roadway suffered
catastrophic damage during
the November 15 storm.
This aerial photography was shot
on November 26. It shows how the
river tore away at the highway as,
swollen with rain, it punched a new,
more direct route to the Thompson
River to the northwest.
Bridges lie slumped over
deep crevices. Great chunks
of asphalt appear to have
been swallowed whole.
B.C. Hydro says it lost 87
power poles and 14
transformers. Four bridges
were destroyed.
The B.C. Ministry of
Transportation has
completed some repairs,
but much work remains
to be done.
Some residents have already been
able to return, but they are aware
that their stay may not be permanent:
the landscape has forever changed,
and the next storm may not be long
in coming. The spring melt, which is
just weeks away, is keeping many
up at night.
Highway 8 was part of the first
automobile route connecting
B.C.’s Lower Mainland with Alberta.
The cliff-hugging ribbon of
road follows the Nicola River
for 69 kilometers, from
Spences Bridge south
to Merritt.
The sensational twisties —
and frequent elk and bighorn
sheep sightings — make this
writhing route a favourite among
motorcycle enthusiasts.
But the roadway suffered
catastrophic damage during
the November 15 storm.
This aerial photography was shot
on November 26. It shows how the
river tore away at the highway as,
swollen with rain, it punched a new,
more direct route to the Thompson
River to the northwest.
Bridges lie slumped over
deep crevices. Great chunks
of asphalt appear to have
been swallowed whole.
B.C. Hydro says it lost 87
power poles and 14
transformers. Four bridges
were destroyed.
The B.C. Ministry of Transportation
has completed some repairs, but
much work remains to be done.
Some residents have already been able to return,
but they are aware that their stay may not be permanent:
the landscape has forever changed, and the next storm
may not be long in coming. The spring melt, which is just
weeks away, is keeping many up at night.
200 m
For the roughly 14,000 people who live in the wider Nicola Country, of whom about one-third are Indigenous, each turn of the river now reveals a different path forward.
Kim Cardinal and Lorn Thibodeau arrived in the Nicola Valley two years ago. They are what’s known here as “604s” - migrants from the Lower Mainland. (The number is a reference to Vancouver’s main area code.) Their hobby farm on Highway 8 was a retirement dream.
They transformed the rundown property into a tidy family compound where their kids came to unwind.
All of it is gone now. Two acres of property, a home, a small cabin and a shop were all swept away by the Nicola River on November 15.
They can’t afford to buy a new property in the area, so they intend to move to 100-Mile House, a more affordable town 160 kilometres to the north - and an extra two hours away from their grandchildren in Chilliwack.
In January, Ms. Cardinal visited what remains of their property. She took a long walk along the Nicola River - to let go of everything the river took from her, to say goodbye, and to thank a greater power for keeping her alive.
“Now that I’ve let go, it’s time to move forward to whatever journey awaits us,” she said. “The river has taken its land back. Mother earth is telling us something urgently. We need to listen.”
Cook’s Ferry First Nation has traditional territory throughout the area, like this reserve near Kloklowuck Creek.
“There is no ETA for our return,” Chief Christine Minnabarriet said. “Much of the reserve is clay. When the river rerouted itself, it eroded the clay bank. Much of it fell into the river. The people who were living there will be displaced for a long time.”
“I’m worried about the water today, tomorrow, this spring, next year,” she said. “Not a day goes by that I don’t worry about it. This flood was something nobody has ever seen before. The Elders say it is unheard of.”
“We’re on a roller coaster. We’re not just dealing with displacement, we’re burning out - from the fire and heat this summer, the pandemic, the extreme weather this winter.”
In some areas there is so little riverbank left that residents wonder whether the road can be rebuilt.
The B.C. Ministry of Transportation has completed temporary repairs at seven highway locations, and has another 16 repairs planned or underway. In places, workers are reinforcing the riverbank with rock piles in preparation for the spring thaw.
In an update on January 18, B.C. Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said temporary repairs along the highway are expected to be completed by the spring, at which point residents who have not yet returned will be able to do so. Mountain roads have provided access to some properties.
Nemy Banthia, Canada research chair in infrastructure rehabilitation at the University of British Columbia, said the province will need to create entirely new codes for materials and engineering, “given that climate change is increasing the number and severity of extreme weather events.”
It’s not just flooding that presents a danger to critical infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest. During last summer’s heat dome, which brought record-breaking heat and wildfires to the region, the surface temperature of asphalt hit 82 degrees in Portland, according to measurements taken by Vivek Shandas, a professor and researcher at Portland State University. When a roadway superheats this way, its asphalt becomes soft and can deform like putty, causing years’ worth of damage in a single day.
Until now, there has been no need to build highways in B.C. to meet heat extremes like these. That is changing, Mr. Banthia said.
For the Nicola River, environmental change has already happened. And the future for those who travel the corridor is uncertain.
In 2021, the Canadian
Wildlife Federation
issued a remediation plan
for the Nicola River watershed.
It drew on a history of
conservation in the area
by various organizations,
and by local and
Indigenous groups.
The plan had a 10-year scope,
and it identified or modeled
various accessibility issues for
salmon and Interior Fraser
steelhead. Steelhead spawn in
the Nicola and were once the
heart of the area’s fishery,
before years of environmental
damage decimated their numbers.
This is a small section of
the study area along the
Nicola River, as it was
shaped last September.
The Xs represent a range of
problems impacting the river,
including built barriers like the
highway or abandoned rail lines,
and natural ones like shallow
riverbeds or natural
debris build-up.
Large sediment deposits
have also affected the
lower Nicola River watershed
in recent years, changing
the natural water flow
like the flooding has. The
plan calls for the removal
of some of these barriers.
The flash flooding of
2021 was “the last thing
these fish needed,” said
UBC zoology professor
Eric Taylor. “Their
numbers were already
incredibly low.”
The storm damage may
herald the end of Interior
Fraser steelhead in B.C.,
once one of the province’s
most formidable
fish species.
As the Ministry of Transportation
rebuilds the highway, it is also
piling rock and woody debris into
what are known as groynes. These
structures in the river will ensure
some natural habitat is restored
for the steelhead and salmon
before the summer’s low water
flow, an issue that predates
the flood.
In 2021, the Canadian Wildlife
Federation issued a remediation plan
for the Nicola River watershed. It drew
on a history of conservation in the area
by various organizations, and by
local and Indigenous groups.
The plan had a 10-year scope,
and it identified or modeled
various accessibility issues for
salmon and Interior Fraser
steelhead. Steelhead spawn in
the Nicola and were once the
heart of the area’s fishery,
before years of environmental
damage decimated
their numbers.
This is a small section of
the study area along the
Nicola River, as it was
shaped last September.
The Xs represent a range of
problems impacting the river,
including built barriers like the
highway or abandoned rail lines,
and natural ones like shallow
riverbeds or natural debris build-up.
Large sediment deposits have
also affected the lower Nicola
River watershed in recent years,
changing the natural water flow
like the flooding has. The plan calls
for the removal of some of
these barriers.
The flash flooding of 2021 was
“the last thing these fish needed,”
said UBC zoology professor Eric Taylor.
“Their numbers were already
incredibly low.”
The storm damage may herald the
end of Interior Fraser steelhead in
B.C., once one of the province’s
most formidable fish species.
As the Ministry of
Transportation rebuilds the
highway, it is also piling rock
and woody debris into what
are known as groynes. These
structures in the river will ensure
some natural habitat is restored
for the steelhead and salmon
before the summer’s low water
flow, an issue that predates
the flood.
In 2021, the Canadian Wildlife
Federation issued a remediation plan
for the Nicola River watershed. It drew
on a history of conservation in the area
by various organizations, and by
local and Indigenous groups.
The plan had a 10-year scope,
and it identified or modeled
various accessibility issues for
salmon and Interior Fraser
steelhead. Steelhead spawn in
the Nicola and were once the
heart of the area’s fishery,
before years of
environmental damage
decimated their numbers.
This is a small section of
the study area along the
Nicola River, as it was
shaped last September.
The Xs represent a range of problems
impacting the river, including built barriers
like the highway or abandoned rail lines,
and natural ones like shallow riverbeds
or natural debris build-up.
Large sediment deposits have also
affected the lower Nicola River
watershed in recent years, changing
the natural water flow like the
flooding has. The plan calls for the
removal of some of these barriers.
The flash flooding of 2021 was
“the last thing these fish needed,”
said UBC zoology professor Eric
Taylor. “Their numbers were
already incredibly low.”
The storm damage may herald
the end of Interior Fraser steelhead
in B.C., once one of the province’s
most formidable fish species.
As the Ministry of Transportation
rebuilds the highway, it is also piling
rock and woody debris into what are
known as groynes. These structures
in the river will ensure some natural
habitat is restored for the steelhead
and salmon before the summer’s
low water flow, an issue that
predates the flood.
In 2021, the Canadian Wildlife Federation
issued a remediation plan for the Nicola River
watershed. It drew on a history of conservation
in the area by various organizations, and by
local and Indigenous groups.
The plan had a 10-year scope, and it
identified or modeled various accessibility
issues for salmon and Interior Fraser
steelhead. Steelhead spawn in the Nicola
and were once the heart of the area’s
fishery, before years of environmental
damage decimated their numbers.
This is a small section of
the study area along the
Nicola River, as it was
shaped last September.
The Xs represent a range of problems
impacting the river, including built barriers
like the highway or abandoned rail lines,
and natural ones like shallow riverbeds
or natural debris build-up.
Large sediment deposits have also
affected the lower Nicola River
watershed in recent years, changing
the natural water flow like the
flooding has. The plan calls for the
removal of some of these barriers.
The flash flooding of 2021 was
“the last thing these fish needed,”
said UBC zoology professor Eric Taylor.
“Their numbers were already incredibly low.”
The storm damage may herald the end of
Interior Fraser steelhead in B.C., once one
of the province’s most formidable fish species.
As the Ministry of Transportation rebuilds
the highway, it is also piling rock and woody
debris into what are known as groynes.
These structures in the river will ensure some
natural habitat is restored for the steelhead
and salmon before the summer’s low water
flow, an issue that predates the flood.
Shackan First Nation is one of the many communities working with the Transportation Ministry to rebuild and restore the Nicola Corridor. The area includes some of the nation's traditional territory.
Temporary repairs are now complete on a 500-metre section of highway in Shackan territory, re-establishing a route to nearby mountain roads and beyond to the town of Merritt.
However, not all Shackan members have been allowed to return.
Michelle Stone and her son, Rapid, lived in the house her grandfather built on Shackan territory. After the storm, they moved into a hotel room in Merritt. Their two dogs are staying with a family in the town, and their chickens and ducks are with friends in the Sunshine Valley. Shackan Chief Arnold Lampreau has said he will not allow band members to return to Ms. Stone’s section of the reserve until June, after the spring melt. She is desperate to get home.
“There is no reason we can’t go home,” Ms. Stone said during a January visit to her property to survey the storm damage. “The road to Shackan has been rebuilt. But there's no plan. There's no information. There's no one from the band saying: ‘Well, we're talking to these people,’ or ‘We might do this.’ There’s no faith or hope that we’re ever going to go back.”
“I love our yard. I love the scenery. I love the valley. I want my son to have chickens and swim in the river, not have iPhones and tablets.”
“Oh God, my swimming hole is gone,” she said while driving past a spot where the Nicola once formed a natural pool. “I spent my whole life swimming there. My fishing hole is gone, too. My son and I used to spend entire days down there.”
Michelle’s friends Wayne and Rhonda MacDonald have decided to stay on their ranch, on the eastern edge of Shackan territory. But they’re up against the odds.
This sentiment is echoed by many along the Highway 8 corridor. They are now survivors of two recent natural disasters: the Lytton Creek wildfire in August, then, three months later, the flooding of the Nicola River.
For weeks this winter they were living without power and phones, using a generator to keep the lights on and the water running for themselves and their cows.
This month, they will have to begin calving their pregnant cows in a machinery shed on their property. Their calving barn, and the comfy blue recliner where Ms. MacDonald used to sit through the night during long labours, were destroyed by floodwaters.
“We are, for all intents and purposes, out of the ranching game,” Ms. MacDonald said. “We don't have enough land anymore to sustain our operation. Our corrals, our fields - it’s all gone. A quarter of our hay field is gone.”
They lost $300,000 worth of irrigation equipment and $450,000 worth of fencing to floodwaters. So far this winter, they have spent $35,000 on hay. “That's income out of our own pockets,” Mr. MacDonald said. “We've had no help. We had 300 tons of hay wash away. It's mind blowing how the government thinks producers can just sit and wait.”
“The provincial government needs to listen to their farming and ranching communities,” Ms. MacDonald said. “Haying season starts for us on June 5. We will need that hay to feed our animals next winter. But we have no irrigation system left to water the hayfield. It’s gone.”
“We need a plan to recover some of the land that we've lost,” Mr. MacDonald said. “We need to stabilize the bank, and protect what is still here.”
Dealing with worse and more frequent natural disasters is part of the wrenching process of learning to live within the new climate paradigm.
The Nooaitch Indian Band has hired an engineer to try to move three flood-damaged homes on Highway 8 to higher ground near the N’Kwala Recreation Site, a popular nearby campground.
They are among the oldest homes on the first nation’s territory, and they have a lot of sentimental value, according to James Fountain, who heads the Nooaitch emergency recovery team. Now they sit perilously on the bank of the Nicola River.
People along the corridor recognize they can’t fix the river’s problems with a single big idea, Mr. Fountain said, but what they can do is build for the best possible future, and the best possible present.
They can look for ways to build back stronger and better, for whatever mother nature throws at them next.
This article is part of No Safe Place, a year-long Globe project on climate adaptation in the wake of a string of climate-related disasters in Western Canada.
Credits
- Aerial photography by Artur Gajda
- Highway Reconstruction photos provided by the B.C. Ministry of Transportation
- All other photography by Nancy Macdonald
- Satellite imagery by Google Earth/Maxar Technologies/CNES/Airbus
- Editing by Steve Kupferman
- Interactive design by Jeremy Agius
Nancy Macdonald