Parks Canada staff have been able to survey the damage at Waterton Lakes National Park after more than 50 millimetres of rain fell in a two-hour period Sunday night.
There are at least three debris fields covering Akamina Parkway along Crandell Mountain, the federal agency said Tuesday.
“Two of these slides are significant in size and will require heavy equipment to clear,” said Dallas Meidinger, a manager with Parks Canada’s Waterton Lakes Field Unit. “Bear’s Hump trail and parking lot was also struck by a large debris slide. Red Rock Parkway was less affected, however debris is covering the road in several places.”
The rain poured down at around 9 p.m. Sunday, hitting the area around Waterton townsite and Crandell Mountain.
Rockslides were observed and Parks Canada decided to close the area for safety reasons and to determine the risk of further slides and flooding.
A bulletin posted on Monday explained all hiking trails in Waterton Lakes National Park were closed with the exception of Townsite and Kootenai Brown Trail along with Townsite Lakeshore Trail.
Five people were rescued from the area by helicopter, Meidinger said.
“We did have two visitors who were backcountry camping at Crandell Mountain campground as well as two other visitors who had driven up at Akamina Parkway and their vehicles were stuck behind a debris field.
“All four of these users and visitors were in good shape, they were extracted successfully and safely,” he said.
“An additional visitor was up at Bertha Lake and they were successfully extracted as well. I can report that everyone is safe.”
After assessing the damage, Parks Canada has reopened additional areas of the park.
Currently, it is safe to travel to Waterton Lakes and explore open areas. The south and east portions of the park have opened, including several trails and backcountry campgrounds. The Waterton townsite and surrounding areas remain open as well.
The majority of the northwest portions of the park remain closed, including both Akamina and Red Rock Parkway and trails accessible from these.
On Tuesday, Parks Canada will take a closer look at the trail network and see if — and how — it’s possible to reopen Red Rock Parkway.
“While Akamina will likely be closed for an extended period, Red Rock Parkway suffered less damage and a shorter closure is anticipated,” Parks Canada said.
Meidinger said the situation is evolving and daily updates will be provided.
Nixie Bradley, the assistant general manager of Bayshore Inn Resort and Spa, is encouraging guests to continue to visit and not cancel their plans.
“Still come,” she said. “The park is great. There’s still lots to do. The cruise line’s open, all the restaurants, the businesses are open. You can still do the trail around the park.
“Definitely don’t cancel your plans based on the closure,” Bradley said.
“Business hasn’t been too bad. The weather has been great. We still have our guests coming in for dinner as well as day traffic.
“There’s still people out walking around enjoying the parks, the village trail.”
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