Testalinden Creek facts for kids
Testalinden is a special place in British Columbia, Canada. It's an old area, and it's also the name of a school, a creek, and a dam. You can find Testalinden just south of the town of Oliver, British Columbia, in the beautiful Okanagan region.
Big Events at Testalinden
Testalinden has seen some big events, including a dam breaking and a large wildfire.
The Dam Burst in 2010
On June 13, 2010, something major happened. The dam at Testalinden Lake, which is up on Mount Kobau, suddenly broke. This happened around 2:15 in the afternoon. When the dam broke, it caused a huge rush of mud and rocks, like a giant muddy river, to slide down the mountain. This type of event is called a landslide.
The landslide traveled about 2 kilometers (that's about 1.2 miles) down into the valley below. Sadly, it destroyed at least five homes and farms in its path. The dam itself was quite old, built in the 1930s, and it wasn't in very good shape. After a lot of rain, the dam couldn't hold back the lake's water anymore, and it gave way.
The mud and debris from the landslide blocked British Columbia Highway 97, which is a main road. The creek also changed its path and flowed over the highway. It was a big job to clear Highway 97, especially because one of the homes had slid right onto the road! Later, Testalinden Creek was fixed. Workers put it back into its original path and used a lot of rocks to make its banks strong.
The Testalinden Wildfire in 2015
Another big event happened on August 14, 2015. A lightning strike started a large wildfire in the Testalinden Creek area. Strong winds helped the fire spread very quickly. This fire burned a huge area, covering 5,202 hectares (that's about 12,854 acres) of land.
