White Rock landslide forces evacuation of 2 homes

A landslide inWhite Rock has forced the evacuation of two homes after a big chunk of theirMartin Street backyard slipped down onto a condo complex on BeachviewAvenue below.

No one was hurt and geotechnical engineers and crews are working to stabilize the hillside, which likely became oversaturated by recent heavy rainfall.

According to White Rock Fire Chief Phil Lemire, the biggest concern is a property in the slide zone wheredebris has travelled right up to the home's foundation and deck.

"They're coming up with a plan to do a bit of mitigation work to prevent further sloughing in the area," he said.

Trees, fences and parts of a retaining wall were all taken out in the slide.

Originally four homes were evacuated, but only the two Martin Street condos remain behind yellow tape.

Elsewhere, two landslides in the Colbrookarea of Surrey have affected local rail service, including Amtrak, which is now running buses to cover the Vancouver-Bellingham route.

With files from Belle Puri