Canada Day was a day of cleaning for residents of a Kamloops mobile home park after flash flooding forced them from their homes Tuesday night.
Mud and debris surrounded homes at the Oakdale Mobile Home Park the day after a destructive storm moved through the area.
Witnesses said the area looked like a river and a power pole was split in half.
"The manager’s trailer at the end fell off its foundation, it slid right off," said resident Terry Moore.
The city was forced to evacuate about 60 homes and declare a local state of emergency. Moore said the flood was unlike anything her community had ever seen.
"We've had a little water backing up from the rain but never an epic flood like this where we've got feet and feet of water," she said.
Though the homes won’t have hydro or gas utilities until Friday, all residents were allowed to return home Wednesday night.
Kamloops Mayor Peter Milobar said the community won’t be back to normal for some time.
“Cleanup is going to take a little while in terms of getting mud and debris away and obviously drying things out is going to be quite a process as well,” he said.
Emergency Social Services provided vouchers for people who needed somewhere to stay.
The city of Kamloops reminded residents to remove perishable foods from their homes and avoid using candles and open flame appliances to lessen risk of fire or carbon monoxide poisoning. The province is offering financial assistance to help the residents begin to rebuild their properties.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Sheila Scott
