Some Pemberton Valley residents return home while others still on evacuation order due to floods
Some people living in the Village of Pemberton have been given the green light to return home after being forced to evacuate Saturday, thanks to crews who worked to protect their homes.
Hundreds more in the Pemberton Valley remain on evacuation order as the Lillooet River continues to run fast and high after already spilling its banks in some places.
Mike Richman, mayor for the village, has lived in the area for more than 30 years and says he has never seen the kind of heat that is scorching the valley now.
He does recall other times when the river flooded roads and some properties, but not at this time of year.
“Mostly those events would come in the fall with what we call a rain on snow event. Not in my time have we ever seen it like this,” he said.
At 5 p.m. Monday, officials closed the Pemberton Airport. The road to it had already been restricted.
The heat enveloping much of the south coast is to blame for the rapid rise in the Lillooet River.
“Well, this is runoff. The tops of the mountains are not cooling off at night they way they usually do and so everything is melting and we’ve got it all coming down here,” said local John Parnell, after pulling over at the side of the highway to see the swelling river.
Richman echoed those comments, saying the constant above-average temperatures have interrupted the normal daily cycle of the area’s watershed. In the past, even on days when it reached 35 C, the temperature would drop enough that people would be “looking for a sweater by 10 in the evening,” said Richman.
“The snow melt that (normally) occurs at this time every year slows down at night. The river drainage system has a chance to catch up, so to speak, and recover for the next day as the heat comes back.”
But that’s not what’s happening right now. Instead, the snowpack continues to melt rapidly even at night.
Flood forecasters don’t expect the river to crest until Wednesday at the earliest, and it’s unlikely the evacuation order will be lifted for any more properties before that happens.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING NEWS Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'