SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THE MUDSLIDE

Parks Canada officials are warning mountain travellers to be ready for mudslides after a sludgy mix came crashing down on the Trans-Canada Highway on Friday.

All lanes of the highway were reopened early Saturday, but the football-field-sized slide has prompted a warning for motorists to be prepared.

“These are rare events, as we know from the intervals between occurrences,” said Parks Canada spokesman Omar McDadi.

“But we can’t rule out, given the type of year it’s been, the possibility of it happening again.”

Officials said the last major slide to close the Trans-Canada near Banff was in 1999.

However, a very wet June and record snowpack in the mountains have created the potential for future slides, he said.

Southeastern B.C. has been rocked by bouts of cascading mud in July.

Two people are confirmed dead and two others are still missing after a slide near Johnsons Landing earlier this month.

Meanwhile, hundreds of campers were stranded when a bridge was washed away in Fairmont and Highway 3A was temporarily closed when a slide came tumbling down near Castlegar shortly after.

McDadi encouraged motorists to pack a safety kit that includes food, water and blankets.

“Hopefully you never have to use it, but it’s a good thing to have just in case,” he said.

Just ask the hundreds of motorists who were turned away from Banff National Park on Friday when officials closed the park’s east gate at 8 p.m. because the town was so full.

Hotels in Banff and neighbouring Canmore were quickly booked up and those stranded were forced to make alternative arrangements that included bunking in cars.

“You could see no-vacancy signs all the way down Banff Avenue,” said Porsten Merker, owner of the King Edward Hotel in the heart of Banff’s hotel strip.

Calgarian Colton Pinchak spent more than nine hours in the car with his wife and infant daughter before they finally found a place to sleep.

“It was overwhelming,” Pinchak said. “I haven’t experienced anything like that before.”

Travellers are also being asked to report mucky buildups and not to leave their vehicles to take pictures if they see a slide.

And while park officials say Friday’s slide was rare, Calgarian Shirlene McGovern recalled getting stuck in another mud spill near Banff about the same time last year.

“This is like our annual mudslide,” said McGovern, who was forced to spend an extra night in Banff when westbound Highway 1 was shut down.

bweismiller@calgaryherald.com