Avalanche closes Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merrit
By Nelson Daily Staff
The recent winter storm dropped too much snow on the Coquihalla Highway, sparking an avalanche near the summit that closed Highway 5 between Hope and Merrit.
Reports say one vehicle got stuck in the snow., but no one was injured.
The DriveBC website said the highway won’t re-open until 8 a.m. PT, at the earliest and possibly as late as 4 p.m. PT.
Mountain highways in the West Kootenay — Allison Pass, Paulson Summit and Kootenay Pass— were expected to receive 20 to 30 centimeters of snow Tuesday.
Another February storm for West Kootenay region
Get ready for more winter.
Environment Canada has issued a heavy snow alert Tuesday and into Wednesday due to a pacific weather system over the BC South Coast will track across the southern interior.
Snow from the system started over the coast mountains and spread eastward to Kootenay Pass by early afternoon.
The heaviest amounts are expected over the Coquihalla summit where up to 40 centimeters of snow is likely by Wednesday morning.
Amounts of 20 to 30 centimeters are forecast for Allison Pass, Paulson Summit and Kootenay Pass highways.
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