One year later, Coquitlam neighbours clean debris from fatal mudslide

It has been nearly a year since the South Coast was pounded by an atmospheric river that triggered a deadly mudslide, washing away a Coquitlam home.

It wasn’t until two days after the storm that rescue crews found the body of the home’s resident, 57-year-old Port Moody teacher Sonya McIntyre.

Now, the community is coming together to help clean up what is left of the property.

A dumpster along Quarry Road has slowly filled with mangled metal, wooden planks, and plastic bins, serving as an unsettling reminder of what once stood there.

In a post on Facebook, the Burke Mountain Residents’ Association said the cleanup is being held on Saturday and Sunday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Organizers declined to comment.

Coquitlam itself recorded more than 250 millimetres of rain on Oct. 19, 2024, with most of the Lower Mainland and B.C.’s South Coast seeing between 100 and 200 mm during the atmospheric river event.

McIntyre was not the only death following the storm. Port Alberni RCMP say one person was found dead after their flooded vehicle was found in the Sarita River.

The massive three-day storm broke 12 one-day rainfall records in B.C.

— With files from Charles Brockman and Charlie Carey.