High water on Skeena wreaks havoc around Northwest

The rising waters of the Bulkley and Skeena rivers cause ripples across the Northwest, hardest hit of our local communities are Terrace and Smithers both suffering the effects of bursting banks and fast flowing waters.

The Daily News provided a recap of the latest events in the Wednesday paper.

REGION SUNK UNDER DELUGE OF WATER, ROADS WASHED OUT
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Page one

The Skeena River began flooding over Highway 16 Tuesday morning and by the afternoon, Highway 16 was officially closed to traffic.

"We had to make sure we didn't close it while people were still on it and we had to make sure people had made their way through the water," said Don Ramsay, area manager for the Ministry of Transportation. "There is definitely water on the road and it is not safe to keep it open."

The highway is closed in both directions from the Port Edward turnoff to Terrace. Ramsay said they have no idea how long it will be closed, but it will be shut at least until the Skeena goes back down.

This could mean a loss of a thousand or more visitors from down the highway for the annual Seafest celebrations, however the Prince Rupert Special Events Society is moving ahead with the event.

"We will still have the communities of Hartley Bay and Lax Kw'alaams visiting and we've invited people from Kitimat to get in their boats and come up and around the Douglas Channel," said Joy Sundin, Special Events Society coordinator.

"It is a local festival and all the local people and the local vendors will be there."
Meanwhile, the ABBAsolutely FABBAulous show scheduled for tonight at the Lester Centre of the Arts has been rescheduled to June 21. Tickets remain valid for the new date with show times at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The group is unable even to get to Terrace because the highway between Terrace and Smithers has also been closed and temporary openings for traffic moving through the mudslide east of Terrace have been cancelled.

Between Monday and Tuesday, the water level monitoring station at Usk on the Skeena saw an increase of more than a metre in depth from 11.218 metres to 12.947 metres.

Kelli Svendsen, CN Rail spokesperson, said they closed the track between Prince Rupert and Smithers on Monday night in anticipation of the flooding.

"There are a number of mitigation strategies we have in terms of addressing problems with flooding ... there is active rip rapping beside the tracks," she said.

Via Rail and Greyhound have also cancelled service from Prince George to Prince Rupert until further notice.

And the Nisga'a Highway is also closed from Gitwinksihlkw (Canyon City) to Greenville (36 km) because of flooding and shoulder erosion

Yesterday, the Regional District of Kitimat Stikine issued an evacuation notice for residents of Braun Island, New Remo and low-laying areas of Queensway and Dutch Valley.

However, some residents of Usk and Old Remo had already voluntarily evacuated their homes after their basements began filling with water.

At the Kitwanga General Store, 60 kilometres northeast of Terrace, Brenda App said business is steady as people are stocking up on food.

She said one nearby section of Highway 16 is under a metre of water, back roads are washed out. A plain above the Skeena has several ancient totem poles and an old church.

"It wouldn't take much to get (flood waters) to where the totem poles and the church are," she said.

A flood warning is in place for the Bulkley River, which is now flooding and is which is expected continue to do so through the weekend.

People in about 260 homes in the Kitimat and Terrace areas were put on evacuation alert Tuesday, meaning residents should be prepared to leave their homes at short notice.

Wes Patterson, emergency co-ordinator for the Kitimat-Stikine Regional District, said a reception centre has been set up at the Thornhill community hall.

"We're asking all residents to register there as they leave their homes," he said from Terrace, noting some residents have already "self-evacuated due to the rising waters."

Files from CP, Prince George Citizen