To ensure public safety, the South Fork Forest Service Road, near Cherryville, is closed to all vehicle traffic until further notice, due to concerns about the stability of the road bed and washouts, as well as damage to the Yeoward Creek Bridge.
Users should note that access to the Monashee trail system, backcountry areas, campsites and range tenures is restricted or unavailable, due to washouts at the 0.5- and 0.7-kilometre marks. Barricades have been set up at the 0.4-kilometre mark.
The washout at the 0.5-kilometre mark appears to have happened around May 9, 2018, with the washout at the 0.7-kilometre mark taking place around May 18, 2018. It is expected that damage to the bridge occurred on May 23, 2018. High snowpack levels, high groundwater levels and an extended warming trend, causing overland water flow and higher-than-normal stream flows, are thought to be the cause.
The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development is working with industrial users and tenure holders to assess and repair the road damage, and to restore access. The construction timeline has not yet been determined.