iN VIDEO: Merritt-area ranches suffered yet another natural disaster this week | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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iN VIDEO: Merritt-area ranches suffered yet another natural disaster this week

after a mudslide on Aug. 23, a new stream began running through Matt Vanderveen's ranch outside of Merrit.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Matt Vanderveen

Matt Vanderveen can’t do anything but watch a new stream of water continue to flood his ranch northwest of Merritt.

The water began running through his property on Aug. 23, he said, after a mudslide caused an upstream culvert to become blocked by debris.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Matt Vanderveen

“There’s really nothing we can do until the highways guys get in there,” he said.

Vanderveen, whose ranch is located on Highway 8 near Dot Ranch Cut-Off Road, was hoping to harvest his hayfields this weekend but the crops have been destroyed.

“Went from expecting some income and now there will be none and a very big bill.”

READ MORE: iN VIDEO: Penticton declares state of emergency due to flooding

His harvests were already stunted this year due to the amount of land and infrastructure damaged in 2021 as a result of the Lytton Creek wildfire in the summer, followed by major flooding in November.

“We’re feeling a little defeated,” he said. “At this point you feel numb. You don’t even know how to react or what to do. It’s just one thing after another.”

Vanderveen suspects there is a direct link between the recent slide – as well as last fall’s flooding, and the amount of forest lost to the Lytton Creek wildfire – 83,740.5 hectares, according to B.C Wildfire.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Matt Vanderveen

Down the road at Bar FX Ranch, owner Rhonda MacDonald is facing similar problems. She says most of the damage was done within the first 10 minutes of the slide.

She hopped into a bobcat and tried to mitigate the damage.

“But that was like trying to fight a forest fire with a squirt gun,” she said.

Access to MacDonald’s property was cut off from the main road when the driveway washed away. She was separated from her husband for hours before he was able to get a helicopter ride home. There’s now a steep and dangerous drop at the edge of their driveway.

This steep new crevis was created by floodwaters at Bar FX Ranch outside of Merritt.
This steep new crevis was created by floodwaters at Bar FX Ranch outside of Merritt.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Rhonda MacDonald

A rough road was opened yesterday to get Bar FX back on the grid.

Similar to Vanderveen, the MacDonalds were expecting a smaller yield this year as a result of the 2021 disasters, and that was set back even further by this week’s slide.

MacDonald said about 18 acres of arable land survived last year’s flood, and 90% of that is now buried under boulders and silt. Heavy machinery will be needed for repairs.

“It’s not like you can pick the rocks off the top and then be able to farm again,” she said.

Furthermore, a celebration of life was planned this weekend for MacDonald’s mother, after being postponed by a year due to the wildfire, and will have to be delayed again.

The Bar FX Ranch outside of Merritt.
The Bar FX Ranch outside of Merritt.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Rhonda MacDonald

To contact a reporter for this story, email Dan Walton or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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