After suffering devastating losses, residents of Oliver, B.C., are looking for answers and struggling to cope in the aftermath of a mudslide that swept down Testalinden Creek on Sunday.
"There's been probably two to three hundred per cent more rain for this time of year than we've had," local winery owner Bruce Fuller said.
Fuller's property escaped the slide relatively unscathed, but he still wants to know why potential slide threats like the recent weather were seemingly ignored.
"You would think that where there are areas where you've got housing close by…that somebody would be paying better attention to it," he said.
John Slater, MLA for Boundary-Similkameen, told reporters he's investigating what happened when a dam holding black a hilltop lake broke, triggering the slide.
"The dam was built back in the ‘30s, and then the federal government did some work in the ‘60s on this dam, so we'll be getting to the bottom of it," Slater said.
Local officials say such dams are under the control of the federal or provincial government, but that this particular dam is the responsibility of a local licencee, who could be liable for damages.
"I don't know the name of the person or agency that holds that licence, and as I say right now, we're sort of at the investigation stage," said Shaun Reimer from the B.C. Ministry of Environment.
According to government records, that licencee is a Keremeos resident named Ace Elkink.
Elkink told CTV News that there is confusion regarding whether or not he is indeed responsible.
At this point it doesn't appear home insurance will cover the losses, and residents are wondering how they're going to pay for all the damage.
Premier Gordon Campbell says he's looking into whether disaster assistance funding can be offered.
"We're going to do what can and what we need to, to be sure we help people get through this," Campbell said.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Stephen Smart
