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Campers make themselves comfortable, wait out Hope landslides under overpass

Friends’ road trip to view Whitehorse northern lights now memorable for Hope landslides
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Kal Atwal, Daj Powar and Jesse Sohal were on their way home from a road trip to Whitehorse when they had to stop unexpectedly in Hope. Now, they are making the best of the situation by carrying on with camping. (Pattie Desjardins/ Hope Standard)

Hope is a popular camping place, lined with rivers and surrounded by mountains with challenging trails and rewarding views.

But when that beautiful local scenery turned disastrous this week, more than 1,000 people were stranded there. That includes travellers Kal Atwal, Daj Powar and Jesse Sohal.

The trio of friends were heading home to Surrey and Delta from a roadtrip to Whitehorse. They travelled up to see the northern lights and were just about home again when the landslides closed off the highway between Hope and Chilliwack.

They tented all the way there, and now that they’re stranded in Hope, they’ve pulled out the tent again. This time, they’ve set up below an overpass. They are even keeping warm with a small fire they built.

They were all smiles on Tuesday talking about their trip, and making the best of the extra few days of what is likely to be a very memorable road trip.

While there is an evacuation centre set up at the Hope secondary school, and local churches have also opened their doors, some of the stranded travellers have chosen to stay in their vehicles, or have RVs with them, and tents.

There are campers set up in areas around town, including outside the Grace Baptist Church. That church was the first place in town to open their doors on Sunday night.

READ MORE: Abbotsford mayor worries for community as rescuers overwhelmed by flooding


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Jessica Peters

About the Author: Jessica Peters

I began my career in 1999, covering communities across the Fraser Valley ever since.
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