Waters recede in parts of flood-ravaged B.C. as half of province remains under threat
Much of British Columbia's Interior continued to be under the threat of flooding triggered by rain and warm weather Sunday, but water levels appeared to be receding at one of the hardest hit communities.
Even so, Cache Creek, a village about 350 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, remained under a state of local emergency, which was expanded to May 13 at midnight.
Village officials said 21 properties remained on evacuation order, while 12 others were still on alert. Crews brought in sandbags, cleared asphalt and put in a berm in a key location along the creek near Quartz Road to prevent further flooding.
Rising creek waters earlier in the week inundated parts of the village, flowing through its firehall, flooding several businesses and temporarily closing both Highway 1 and Highway 97.
“The water is staying in the channel now,” said Cache Creek Mayor John Ranta. “And it doesn't seem to be flowing around or through the firehall the way it was the last few days.”
MLA Jackie Tegart, whose Fraser-Nicola constituency includes Cache Creek, met with town residents Saturday.
She said people are hopeful the worst of the flood threat is over.
“People are tired,” said Tegart. “Holy cow, are they tired.”
In the meantime, about half of B.C. remained under flood watch, warning or advisory on Sunday.
The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary, 530 kilometres east of Vancouver, became the most active flood zone in the province on Saturday, with officials ordering the evacuation of 40 properties in and around Grand Forks.
On Sunday, the district rescinded the evacuation orders for 34 of those properties within Grand Forks city limits, but also added one more rural property near the city to the evacuation orders list.
“Weather conditions locally and in the snowpack areas could cause these forecasts to vary through the rest of the weekend,” the City of Grand Forks' Facebook page update said. “Residents are reminded to stay away from areas under evacuation orders and alerts and to remain well clear of fast-moving water.”
A flood warning also continued to be in place for Whiteman Creek in the Okanagans, where the Okanagan Indian Band said it will continue to monitor the situation while removing silt and debris to minimize the damage from rising water.
In Cache Creek, Ranta said while the village is still in the response phase of the emergency, there will also be a long cleanup process due to the flooding this past week.
“There's, you know, six or eight inches of silt and rocks and gravel and whatnot around the firehall,” Ranta said. “And other businesses have work to do. They've got a fair bit of damage as a result of the flooding, and I think we'll be months in the recovery phase.”
Cache Creek is also remaining vigilant to new flooding that may arise, Ranta said.
Tegart said people in the area have told her they want the provincial government to engage in “big picture planning” to try to limit the annual flood threat.
“Every year, people watch with trepidation as the freshet starts,” Tegart said. “We know where the water comes up. Why aren't we doing the work before it happens?”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian former Olympic snowboarder wanted in Ontario double homicide: DOJ
A Canadian former Olympic snowboarder who is suspected of being the leader of a transnational drug trafficking group that operated in four countries is wanted for allegedly orchestrating the murder of an 'innocent' couple in Ontario in 2023, authorities say.
Ontario school board trustees under fire for $100K religious art purchase on Italy trip
Trustees with an Ontario school board are responding to criticism over a $45,000 trip to Italy, where they purchased more than $100,000 worth of religious statues.
A photographer snorkeled for hours to take this picture
Shane Gross, a Canadian marine conservation photojournalist, has won the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Tobacco giants would pay out $32.5 billion to provinces, smokers in proposed deal
Three tobacco giants are proposing to pay close to $25 billion to provinces and territories and more than $4 billion to some 100,000 Quebec smokers and their loved ones as part of a corporate restructuring process triggered by a long-running legal battle.
More Trudeau cabinet ministers not running for re-election, sources say shuffle expected soon
Federal cabinet ministers Filomena Tassi, Carla Qualtrough and Dan Vandal announced Thursday they will not run for re-election. Senior government sources tell CTV News at least one other, Marie-Claude Bibeau, doesn't plan to run again, setting the stage for Justin Trudeau to shuffle his cabinet in the coming weeks.
Robert Pickton's handwritten book seized after his death in hopes of uncovering new evidence
A handwritten book was seized from B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton's prison cell following his death earlier this year, raising hopes of uncovering new evidence in a series of unprosecuted murders.
Former members of One Direction say they're 'completely devastated' by Liam Payne's death
The former members of English boy band One Direction reacted publicly to the sudden death of their bandmate, Liam Payne, for the first time on Thursday, saying in a joint statement that they're 'completely devastated.'
Israel says it has killed top Hamas leader Yayha Sinwar in Gaza
Israeli forces in Gaza killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year's attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel's most wanted man.
Indian government employee charged in foiled murder-for-hire plot in New York City
The U.S. Justice Department announced criminal charges Thursday against an Indian government employee in connection with a foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.