UPDATED: Several homes have been evacuated near Harrison Lake Sunday after a 50,000-pound boulder came down in early November.

According to District of Kent Mayor John Van Laerhoven, a local state of emergency was declared as a precautionary measure for those residents living on a select number of properties on the east side of Rockwell Drive, north of Thunderbird Creek.

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鈥淭he rock that鈥檚 sitting there isn鈥檛 going to hurt anybody. It鈥檚 not going to move,鈥� said Van Laerhoven. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just concerned about the slope behind those properties.鈥�

鈥淟ife safety is paramount for our citizens living in this area and the evacuation order is an extra precautionary step to address a potentially serious situation with the freezing weather in the higher elevations.鈥�

Van Laerhoven said it wasn鈥檛 yet clear how long the evacuation would last but that no one was injured and the only property damage was to a garden shed of a property on Rockwell Drive.

Kent Harrison emergency program coordinator Gerald Basten says District staff are conducting a preliminary assessment and will be working with the province to have geotechnical assessments done on the rock bluffs at Rockwell drive.

鈥淥nce the professional engineers go in and have a look we鈥檒l know a lot more,鈥� he says.

The public is asked to limit travels to the area of Rockwell Drive if possible. Information on emergency planning can be found

More to come.