Two mudslides hit the Glen Valley escarpment on Wednesday, blocking roads and damaging one house.

The first slide closed 264th Street in North Langley, shutting down the road between 72nd and 84th Avenues for most of the day.

The slide took place sometime in the early morning hours of Wednesday in the 7700 block of 264th, following several days of steady rain.

"About a hundred metres of road has been covered," said Terry Veer, the Township's manager of roads and drainage.

The mud is up to 30 centimetres (12 inches) thick in places, Veer said.

One house was damaged as the mud headed downhill, and the home has been evacuated, Veer said. No one was hurt.

The second slide hit around 11 a.m. in the 7400 block of 252A Street. It didn't block a road, but the street was closed as a precaution, Veer said.

As of Wednesday evening, geotechnical engineers were looking over the sites to determine what caused the 264th St. slide, and how safe it would be to clean it up.

The mud on the street was very runny, and anything removed simply filled in again with more material, Veer said.

Crews were also concerned about the stability of the whole site, and whether it was safe to simply shovel it away.

The slide apparently took out a small retaining wall.

Veer said the costs of the entire cleanup aren't known yet, but will be in the thousands if not the tens of thousands.

The final tally will depend on how much work has to be done to shore up the steep banks.

The site of the 264th Street slide is just below the newly-opened Pagoda Ridge golf course. According to a Pagoda Ridge staff member, the course itself was not damaged by the slide.

Traffic was expected to possibly open on 264th Street by Wednesday night, with alternating one-way transit.

The slide affected the morning commutes of numerous North Langley residents.

Along with the mudslide, Veer said Township crews were dealing with the usual issues that follow a heavy rain event, especially in the fall.

"We do have some flooded intersections and roadways," said Veer.

Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning for the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, predicting between 50 and 70 mm of rain over the course of the day, following several days of moderate to heavy rain already this week. The rain was expected to taper off to showers by Wednesday evening.

mclaxton@langleyadvance.com