City of Whitehorse prepares for possible landslides in downtown core

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The City of Whitehorse is preparing residents for the spring freshet — or spring melt — season, and the potential for landslides to follow in the downtown core.

Officials say this year’s snowpack is similar to 2022, when a series of landslides closed Robert Service Way for weeks and put homes at risk.

Robert Dickson, the manager of engineering services with the City of Whitehorse, says risk areas extend all the way from Takhini, along Robert Service Way, to the south access road. He adds that residents don’t need to be worried about a major event impacting operations at the airport.

A man sits in a board room with a laptop. On a larger screen he shows a green and red thermal map of a cliff side. — Rob Dickson, the city’s manager of engineering services, shows the thermal monitoring of the escarpment. (Isabella Calissi/CBC)

“The melt rate has been slow so far. But obviously as we start to get into warmer temperatures, that can accelerate very quickly and then we can see some debris movement along the escarpment, particularly on areas that are sort of just bare,” he said.

Dickson says the city team has added extra sensors at key locations along the escarpment, and have increased geotechnical inspections to improve monitoring efforts.

Emergency response

A map of downtown Whitehorse. Areas on the surrounding cliff face are labled high risk areas, properties closer to the cliffside are labled as moderate risk. — Rob Dickson says high and moderate risk areas have been updated for this year’s freshet season. (Isabella Calissi/CBC)

Ursula Geisler, the emergency manager with the city, says her team is sharing information with property owners in high- and moderate-risk areas so they can plan for possible hazards.

They’re also encouraging all residents to have a 72-hour emergency kit prepared.

“In simple terms, the 72-hour kit is everything you would pack for a three-day camping trip,” Geisler said.

Geisler says residents should also make plans for a place to stay in case of an evacuation.

Residents will be informed via local radio broadcasts, social media posts, and the Yukon Government’s Alert Ready system — which, in an emergency, will interrupt television and radio broadcasts and send information direct to people’s phones.

“We’d also be going door-to-door and notifying residents that way,” she said. She also said the team is “working with partner agencies to ensure that residents have the support they need while they’re evacuated.”

Long-term solution

A aerial view of a landslide with debris blocking off a road. — Debris from the landslide in 2022 that crossed Robert Service Way, and spilled onto the Millennium Trail. (Vincent Bonnay/Radio-Canada)

While continuing its monitoring of immediate threats, the city is also working on more permanent solutions.

In 2024, the city was awarded $45 million from the federal government to find a way to stabilize the slopes.

Dickson says nothing is final, but one idea being examined is reshaping the slope of the escarpment to make it more resilient. The surface could then be treated to promote vegetative growth, which would stabilize the soil.

Other precautions have been taken near Robert Service Way since 2022, including the installment of concrete slabs near the roadway, and gates to close the road when there’s a high chance of a landslide.