State of Local Emergency Ends

Decision made by province: CAO

In late August a banner message appeared on the Village of Lions Bay website indicating that the State of Local Emergency (SOLE) declared after the Battani Creek debris torrent in December 2024 had "not been renewed", effective August 9.

Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Ross Blackwell — who was appointed Director of Operations of the Lions Bay Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) — said that the decision was not made by Village staff.

"The Village did not cancel the SOLE, rather, the request by the Village to extend the SOLE was refused by the Minister," Blackwell said on Monday, adding that the EOC for the event has been stood down.

"If a new SOLE is required, the Village can pursue that, (however) I do not foresee that as a likely scenario."

When asked whether this means the provincial emergency funding now stops, and the total amount of funds allotted thus far to the Village, Blackwell declined comment.

Back on April 24, The Vancouver Sun reported that the SOLE was still in place "so the municipality can complete a public safety study. The study, which has not been mentioned publicly by the Village of Lions Bay, is meant to 'fully understand' the geotechnical stability and the risk of debris flow in the Battani Creek drainage area, which is where the landslide occurred, according to provincial officials."

No information about a 'public safety study' has been released by the Village, and now that the SOLE has ended, it is not clear if the study has been completed, and if it has, when it will be made public.

The civil action filed against the province, local resident Steven Vestergaard and the Village of Lions Bay on April 16 by family members of the Enns, and residents of the two neighbouring houses whose homes were affected by the December landslide, continues to make its way through the courts.

Squamish RCMP has released no further information into the investigation of the deaths of Barbara and David Enns.

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