Second surge from Nooksack River impacts some B.C. farms, businesses along the border
As a flood from the Nooksack River poured into Sumas Prairie for the second time in two weeks, some farmers remained extremely concerned Monday evening about how severe its impact will be.
While the waters appeared to be skirting the Huntingdon Village neighbourhood, where some 90 homes remain under evacuation order, they were still flowing into the fields to the northeast, including into Cynthia Dykman’s family farm.
“We won’t be sleeping tonight, that’s for sure,” Dykman told CTV News around 5:30 p.m.
She said the family was preparing to evacuate one low-lying barn, home to 300 calves, with the water level rising and their pumps getting clogged.
“You just throw your hands in the air and do the best you can,” she said, adding that they were ready to move the calves to higher ground just as they did two weeks ago.
Earlier, before the waters rose, chicken and blueberry farmer Ed Friesen came out to survey the few dry patches left in his fields.
“We’re good. We’re all alive. And we are surviving,” Friesen said.
“I think we’re as prepared as we can be,” he said, adding they’d moved all the chicks to the second floor, and that living through the first flood had made them a “little bit smarter.”
Meanwhile, Wayne Elias, the manager for a recycling plant along the border that had just re-opened for a couple days, before waters shut it again, watched warily.
He called the Nooksack flood a “slow motion train wreck.”
“You’re standing here, and watching the water come,” Elias said. “And there’s just nothing you can do.”
Others, like Shawn Hystek, who has lived all his life on the prairie, expressed optimism the waters didn’t appear to be as high or intense as first forecast.
“I put a marker at my father-in-law’s creek there to see how quick the water has come up,” he told CTV Monday afternoon.
“It’s not rising too fast, (so I’m) feeling a lot more comfortable this time.”
Still, there is widespread concern, Hystek said, about the third of three atmospheric rivers set to impact the Fraser Valley starting late Tuesday, especially with many homes and farms on the eastern end of Sumas Prairie still entirely inaccessible.
“Let’s see how the rest of the week goes with the rain,” he said.
“It’d be nice to just have life go back to normal now.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
4th Indian national arrested, charged with murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Homicide investigators in B.C. say murder charges have been laid against a fourth Indian national in connection to the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Surrey gurdwara last year.
Man ticketed after allegedly trespassing again at Drake's Bridle Path mansion to get his bike
A man who tried to access Drake’s Bridle Path mansion earlier this week returned to the property Saturday and was apprehended again for allegedly trespassing, Toronto police say.
Switzerland's Nemo wins 68th Eurovision Song Contest
Swiss singer Nemo won the 68th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night with 'The Code,' an operatic ode to the singer’s journey toward embracing their nongender identity.
Wildfire that forced evacuation of Fort Nelson, B.C., caused by tree falling on wires, mayor says
The wildfire that prompted the evacuation of more than 3,000 people near Fort Nelson, B.C., was caused by a tree falling on wires, according to the municipality's mayor.
Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
Israel orders new evacuations in Gaza's last refuge of Rafah as it expands military offensive
Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza's southern city of Rafah on Saturday, forcing tens of thousands more people to leave as it prepared to expand its military operation deeper into what is considered Gaza’s last refuge.
'I am angry': Alberta farmers will continue fight over world class motorsport resort
The rolling hills leading to the hamlet of Rosebud are dotted with sprawling farms and cattle pastures -- and a sign sporting a simple message: No Race Track.
IN PICTURES Northern lights dance across the night sky in southern Ont.
From London, to Grand Bend, Collingwood and Guelph, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with Maple Leafs, dead at 79
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a member of Canada's team at the 1972 Summit Series, has died at age 79.