A part of the Cowichan Valley Trail is closed indefinitely following a washout during recent heavy rainfall.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said the closure is between the Holt Creek Trestle and 64.4 Mile Trestle. The area will be fenced off, with signage posted at major access points.
The government said ministry staff will repair the trail once it is safe to do so.
The Cowichan Valley Trail is a multi-use trail that is part of The Great Trail (Trans Canada Trail) route on Southern Vancouver Island.
The Cowichan Valley section runs from the Capital Regional District boundary at the top of the Malahat, north to Shawnigan Lake and the Kinsol Trestle, west to the Town of Lake Cowichan then north to the Regional District of Nanaimo. The majority of the gravel trail is wide and flat with some sections running along the roadways.
According to the ministry, Cowichan Valley experienced more than 440 millimetres of rainfall in January 2020, over 225 per cent of the climate normal.
A significant portion of that rainfall occurred within a 36-hour period over the past weekend. The rain led to flooding and a state of local emergency was declared in the Cowichan Valley Regional District on Feb. 1.
On Thursday, the district extended the state of local emergency as they continue to support residents affected by the flood.
The B.C. government announced this week that Disaster Financial Assistance is available for eligible B.C. residents in the following regions:
- Capital Regional District
- Cowichan Valley Regional District
- Regional District of Nanaimo
- Greater Vancouver Regional District
- Fraser Valley Regional District
- Squamish Lillooet Regional District
- Sunshine Coast Regional District
First Nations, electoral areas and municipalities that are in those regional districts can apply for DFA.
The government said Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) is available to homeowners, residential tenants, small business owners, farmers, charitable organizations and local government bodies who were unable to obtain insurance to cover flooding losses. The application is available here.
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