Rescue teams airlifted more than 60 people from Bugaboo Provincial Park in British Columbia on Sunday after heavy flooding. The operation involved 10 helicopter trips and took approximately seven hours to complete.

Jordy Shepherd, a member of Columbia Valley Search and Rescue, reported that they received the first call for assistance around 8 a.m. local time on August 17. The Alpine Club of Canada alerted rescuers to high creek levels near the popular Conrad Kain Hut, prompting an investigation.

Upon arrival, rescuers found that the creek near the hut and under a trail bridge was flowing rapidly and was muddy. Approximately 60 hikers and campers were in the area and faced a perilous journey out without assistance.

Shepherd noted, "It's quite fortunate that the road out, the logging road, was not compromised by this higher water. That would have been another problem, if all the vehicles were also stuck on the wrong side of a washout."

Once the situation was assessed, rescuers established a staging area and began airlifting the stranded individuals. After the rescue, they were transported to the trailhead to retrieve their vehicles.

The group of stranded individuals included people aged from 10 to about 70 years old. Shepherd stated, "It took about seven hours total from when we were called to when we had everybody out," adding that they also conducted an additional flight to a campground outside the park in a more remote area.

The flooding was caused by a tarn, a type of mountain lake, which had cut a channel through glacier ice, leading to the rapid water flow. Shepherd explained, "We noted that the upper tarn, below Bugaboo and Crescent Spires, had cut a deep channel through the glacier ice that has historically held back the tarn on that side. So the tarn was actually flowing out the opposite side that it normally flows out."

Shepherd praised the volunteer rescuers for their efforts and expressed relief that the campers did not have to spend the night stranded or attempt to navigate the dangerous creek on their own.

Currently, much of the core area of Bugaboo Provincial Park is closed indefinitely as B.C. Parks staff assess the extent of the flooding damage.