Nature makes for a costly neighbour

This spring’s string of natural disasters has proven to be a costly adventure for the Northwest, with the receipts now in, the Ministry of Transportation is looking at 3 million dollar bill for repairs to the Nass highway and Highway 16 due to floods and landslides.

The most expensive of issues to deal with has been the Legate Creek slide which so far has cost between 1.2 and 1.5 million dollars to make the area East of Terrace safe once again.

The Daily News provided a summary of the various highway troubles and the cost to fix them from this springs wild ride.

FLOODS, SLIDES DRIVE UP COST OF ROAD REPAIR
Damage to region’s roads likely to cost up to $3m to put right this summer
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Pages one and two

Mother Nature did close to $3 million in damage to Highway 16 and the Nisga’a Highway during natural disasters this spring.

Don Ramsey, area manager for the Ministry of Transportation, said the biggest single cost was as a result of the mudslide that closed Highway 16 on the east side of Terrace, near Legate Creek, in late May.

“It looks like it is coming in somewhere between $1.2 and $1.5 million to make that area safe again. We are still working on it,” he said.

The devastating slide dramatically altered the landscape. Twenty-five thousand tones of debris covered 150 feet of road, 40 feet deep and claimed the lives of two Williams Lake residents, Bob and Charyl Flinton, whose car was crushed as they traveled along Highway 16.

In addition, Ramsay said it will cost an estimated $1.5 million to repair damage to the highways from the flooding that happened a week later.

Prince Rupert, Terrace and the Nisga’a communities of Greenville and Kincolith were cut off after record-level snow packs combined with a hot weekend to create the flood.
The melt-off pushed the Skeena and Nass Rivers over their banks and onto Highway 16 east and west of Terrace as well as on the Nisga’a Highway.

“It’s probably going to add another $1.5 million on top of that for 16 different areas that required and still require work,” said Ramsay.

The $3 million tab covers work in the area from Prince Rupert to 50 kilometres east of Terrace and north along the Nisga’a Highway.

There are also significant costs in the Bulkley Valley.

One of the large repair projects just getting underway is a $400,000 road repair on the newly constructed Nisga’a Highway.

This was part of the road that was designed to handle a flood in a high river year by allowing water to flow over the road, said Ramsay. The new highway was built this way because raising the road to redirect the river would have pushed the flood waters toward the footings of the major bridge just east of Greenville.

“The road did what it was supposed to do. What happened that wasn’t expected was, as the river flowed over it, it flowed with such force on the downstream side of it, the rock and gravel shoulder washed way and began to undermine the road,” he said.

This left a one-metre drop straight down from the edge of the pavement.

“The pavement was untouched, the road looks the same, but it’s not a safe situation so we are putting a shoulder back on there.”

And the Usk ferry is also still out of service. The ferry had a broken cable and Highways couldn’t replace it in high water. The water has only just now dropped enough to replace the cable.

“We are moving to replace that next week,” said Ramsay.

All these repairs are going on in addition to the regular summer paving program.

“A few things have been delayed a little bit but these are being undertaken as extra projects on top of regular maintenance program,” he said.

Funding for the repairs is expected to come from the federal government through the province’s Provincial Emergency Program.

The Skeena River flood was determined to be a ‘one-in-75-year’ event. The Nass River flood was a ‘one-in-30-year’ event. And the Bulkley Valley River flood was ‘100-year event’, according to the River Forecast Centre.

Ramsay said it would not be cost effective to try to protect the highway system from future floods with dikes.

High Waters may provide low expectations for fishery

The 2007 Salmon season got underway on Tuesday, as the gillnet fishery opened up amid reports of a very muddy river and sediment causing problems for the returning salmon stocks in the early going.

The worries in the early days are that the fish will remain further away from their traditional return patterns while the waters remain cloudy and troublesome for them.

The issue was examined in a front page story in Wednesday’s Daily News.

Recent floods clouding the waters for fishing fleet
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

The commercial salmon season got underway Tuesday with the opening of the gillnet fishery, but the forecast for the early part of the season is as murky as the waters the fish are swimming through.

Joy Thorkelson of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union and a Prince Rupert city councillor, said reports are that the water in the rivers is really muddy, full of sediment because of the extra run-off created by the flood.

"They (salmon) waste a lot energy in the mud," she said. "The fish can't breath properly."
The concern is that salmon may not be behaving normally, but instead are holding in place because of the water conditions.

This could cause different concerns for different fisheries, making it easier for hook and line sports fishermen to catch the springs that are backed up and waiting to head for their spawning grounds but harder for gillnetters whose nets collect mud.

"We will have to see. If it's like this all summer, it's going to be a problem," she said.
Bert Ionson, regional resource manager for salmon for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, also said it's too early to tell how the record-level snow packs and subsequent run off will impact the salmon this year.

He said there is usually some sediment in the water when the fish begin to arrive, as the water levels increase in velocity and rise.

"The streams naturally are going to pick up some sedimentation but the flooding that has gone on has certainly exacerbated it. It's more than we normally see," he said.

And because of the flow, it is possible that salmon migration may be held up as the fish arrive at the spawning areas.

"The early ones will simply not migrate into the river but as migration timing goes on, however, they will then start to work their way in," he said.

And they do anticipate some mortality, but nothing out of the ordinary at this point.
"Some of the weaker individuals of the population just won't be able to make it to the fish spawning areas ..." Ionson said.

"Had this happened at a time when a peak abundance of fish were coming through, it might have had a stronger impact."

In the Hell's Gate region on the Fraser River, he noted they get a lot of suspended sediments coming through in a powerful fashion, with gravel one quarter of an inch in diameter.

"Fish would just get pummeled if they tried to migrate through that. What they do is they just don't migrate, they stop their migration and hold up down below these blockages in back eddies and the areas of the stream where it is not as strongly flowing until the water velocity declines," he said.

The troll fishery is also anticipating an opening for springs on Friday.

Mopping up the mess and fixing the pipes

The Daily News on Tuesday provided details on the progress that regional officials are making in the clean up of the flood waters of last week along the Skeena. Of current interest to Prince Rupert will be the status of Highway 16 and the time frame of repairs needed to the Natural Gas Pipeline to the city.

MOP UP, REPAIR CONTINUES FOLLOWING EASING OF FLOOD
PNG hopeful that repairs to gas line will be carried out in coming day or so
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Pages one and three

If the weather continues to co-operate, Pacific Northern Gas believes it can have a temporary gas line in place in the next couple of days, negating any potential loss of service for Prince Rupert.

“Right now, there is sufficient line pack in the line to supply service to residential customers, hotels, restaurants and retail outlets for several days and if the weather conditions hold at the present time the way they are, we should be able to have the line prepared in the next couple of days,” said Tom Leach, coordinator marketing and lands for Pacific Northern Gas.

The area’s only supplier of natural gas has been able to get a crew and equipment into the remote region where the line was broken, about 50 kilometres west of Terrace. The line broke around 3 p. m. on Saturday, leaving Prince Rupert with no road access, no rail access, no remaining vehicle fuel, a ruptured natural gas line and a slow internet connection. The B. C. Hydro line remained unaffected.

“About 50 kilometres west of Prince Rupert where our mainline crosses one of the back channels of the Skeena River, due to the high water over the last several days, it caused our line to break at that point,” said Leach.

“We have since been able to get crews and equipment into the line break site and we are preparing to fix the line as we speak.

“We are going to put a temporary line in place until such time as we can get in there to do a permanent repair. This may take some time, depending on the levels of the Skeena and being in a remote area to get crews and equipment in there to make a permanent repair will take some time and engineering.”

Since Sunday, Highway 16 has reopened, fuel is being brought up the coast by barge and rail service has been restored.

Like PNG, communications company CityWest continues to work on repairing its fibre link to Terrace.

PNG is not the only company to have its fingers crossed that the weather will cooperate.

Tony Cheong, Forecasting and Information Manager of the River Forecast Centre, said there is potential for another significant rise in the Skeena River if there is enough hot weather.

“The last event was precipitated by two days of hot weather,” he said.

“The flood season will not be over until the end of June.”

About 60 per cent of the snow pack remains, however this week’s weather forecast doesn’t look dangerous as it calls for cool weather with light rain.

Jim Whyte, director of the Provincial Emergency Program, said they are now switching their energies from flood response to family recovery and community recovery.

This involves cleaning up homes and helping people return to the flood zones as well as ensuring all services, such as water, sewer, gas and telephone are restored to evacuation areas.

The province is offering up to $300,000 in disaster financial assistance to home owners whose property was damaged as well as flood assistance to local governments with properties damaged in the floods.

More melting keeps region anxious

With warmer temperatures melting the snow and precipitation moving in, officials in Terrace and area are keeping a watchful eye on the flow of the Skeena, Nass and Bulkley Rivers. While they are thankful for the break in sandbagging and pumping that the last few days has provided, they suggest that there could be a round two if things heat up too fast for a fast moving system comes ashore.

The Globe and Mail had a report on the latest concerns and a review of the weekend developments around the northwest. Included in their review was a discussion with Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond, who expanded on the situation faced by Prince Rupert this weekend and how things are progressing as the week goes on.


FLOOD WATCH
Melting snow threatens temporary calm
Problem could be only half over, officials warn, as one mayor considers building permanent dikes
LAURA DRAKE
With a report from from Armina Ligaya
June 12, 2007

VANCOUVER -- The Skeena and Nass Rivers may rise significantly once again because half of the snow pack that caused record floods earlier this month has yet to melt, officials said yesterday.

"While flows in these systems are well below their peaks of last week, there is still substantial snow remaining in these watersheds and potential to get another high flow depending on weather," said Tony Cheong, manager of forecasting and information with the River Forecast Centre.

In fact, after dropping several metres from their peaks, both rivers did rise again over Sunday night by about 30 centimetres due to snow melt and some rainfall, Mr. Cheong said. A substantial hot spell of two or three days, similar to what produced the peak flow of last week, would cause the rivers to rise substantially. However, Mr. Cheong could not predict if the rivers would once again rise to flood stage.

There is not enough snow left in the mountains above the Fraser River to cause it to peak from snow melt, Mr. Cheong said. However, a large amount of rain could cause the river to rise again depending on when and where it fell. A widespread boil-water advisory has been issued for northwestern British Columbia while residents brace for a second wave of flooding with a new round of evacuation alerts, The Canadian Press reported last night.

The Northern Health Authority says the precautionary boil-water order applies to people affected by floods over the past week.

The Provincial Emergency Program says the newest evacuation alert covers about 500 homes in the Francois Lake area south of Burns Lake.

They join the more than 1,000 homes remaining on evacuation alert and 60 under an evacuation order. However, provincial emergency program director Jim Whyte said he expects those numbers to drop soon.

"At this time, our energies are shifting from response to the flood incident towards community and family recovery as the flood waters drop," Mr. Whyte said.

Family recovery involves getting people back into their homes and ensuring they are livable. Community recovery, Mr. Whyte said, is a much larger undertaking regarding the state of roads, and water and sewer systems in the towns affected by the floods.

Terrace Mayor Jack Talstra said he would like to receive financial help from the provincial and federal government to build five kilometres of permanent dikes around his town. Mr. Talstra, who has lived in Terrace for 50 years, said he's never seen a flood this bad and is concerned about the increasing frequency of flooding.

"In the last eight years or so we've had three floods. This time and every time there's erosion and houses that 40 years ago were far away from the river are very close to the river today," he said.

"We do not have much arable land of high quality but we do have 1,000 acres or so and it keeps eroding. I don't know what global warming is going to do in the future, but we don't want to lose this."

Premier Gordon Campbell has yet to tour the flood-affected regions. He said yesterday he avoided the areas so as not to get in the way.

"I want people to focus on keeping people as safe as possible, not on taking care of the Premier to be quite blunt about it," Mr. Campbell said in Vancouver yesterday.

"Certainly my heart goes out to all those that were directly impacted, but I think local governments, the provincial governments, did a pretty good job of dealing with a tough situation."

*****

FLOOD HASN'T DAMPENED PRINCE RUPERT'S SPIRITS

Although recent flooding has cut Prince Rupert off from the rest of the province, leaving it short on gas for cars and homes, the city's mayor said yesterday it's nothing his city can't handle.

"Well, we're pretty resourceful, we've been without natural gas in the middle of winter for extended periods so facing this situation in the summer it's at best an inconvenience," Herb Pond said.

"People will find other ways of getting things done."

The Pacific Northern Gas line to the city, which runs under the flooded Skeena River, broke Saturday. While city buildings and schools have turned their gas off, homes and businesses are running off the residual gas in the lines.

"We're preaching to our residential customers and the restaurants and hotels in the Prince Rupert area to conserve gas as much as we can, but at this point we really can't say how long it will last," PNG spokesman Tom Leach said yesterday.

Mr. Leach said the break is in a remote area, but crews are on their way to fix the line.
"Mother Nature is co-operating at this point, it's overcast but it's not raining, the river levels are staying relatively stable at this point so things are going according to plan," Mr. Leach said.

Prince Rupert is also experiencing a gasoline shortage, but a barge from Vancouver arriving this morning should alleviate that "just in time," Mr. Pond said. Having Highway 16, which had been closed due to a mudslide, partly opened between Prince Rupert and Terrace, has allowed a few trucks in, but the barge will be crucial.

"We can bring in smaller quantities but we really need the barge to get properly resupplied," Mr. Pond said. He estimated that things should be back to normal by noon today, assuming the weather co-operates.

The mayor added that the city's isolation from the rest of the province due to the floods is an event unmatched in magnitude as far as he can remember.

"Through this whole incident we have maintained full functionality of all our emergency response services - police, fire, the hospital. It all took some pretty heavy lifting by a whole bunch of people behind the scenes, but the show goes on."

Kincolith stocks up with special trip to Rupert

Much needed medical supplies, produce and dairy goods were destined for Kincolith (Gingolx) this weekend as a couple of fishing industry members combined their forces to help out the isolated North coast community.

With floodwaters closing their highway connection to Terrace, the residents of Kincolith sent four village residents away to shop after putting together a shopping list totaling some 12,000 dollars and arrived in Prince Rupert.

The Daily news featured the story in Monday’s paper.

SPECIAL TRIP KEEPS KINCOLITH RESIDENTS STOCKED
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, June 11, 2007
Pages one and five

Canadian Fish and F and H Stewart Packing Ltd. teamed up on Friday to help the people of Kincolith access some much needed medical supplies, fresh produce and dairy goods while the community was cut off by the flood waters.

Anticipating they could be cut off for as long as another week, the community came up with a list of supplies and flew four people to Prince Rupert to gather up $12,000 in essentials.

On Friday, Canadian Fish donated the fuel and F and H Stewart Packing loaded the fishing vessel the Born Free for the six-hour trip up the coast.

“We are trying to provide for the entire community’s most basic needs,” said Kincolith village official Clarence Martin.

Grocery stores were sent lists in advance and Esther Stevens, Kincolith Social Services, said they hit Safeway at 6:45 a. m.

“We are trying to be safe in case the road doesn’t open,” she said.

“We just need the basics - we are looking after our infants, toddlers and elders.:

Volunteers from Prince Rupert helped box the goods and pack it in totes for the journey home.

The Nisga’a community of Kincolith is located on the Portland Inlet at the end of the Nisga’a Highway. The 118 homes and 364 people were cut off when flooding closed the highway last week.

The road was reopened this weekend after levels in the Nass River dropped substantially.

Fred C. Stewart , owner of the Born Free, said he and his crew- Tom Timms and Tom Leask – were happy to volunteer to make the trip and return the volunteers with totes of fresh food.

The Born Free is a 62 foot vessel that packs for Canadian Fish.

“I live in Prince Rupert, but I was born in Kincolith,” said Stewart. “Right now, they have no other way to get his up there.”

Most of the people who fish in Kincolith do so for Canadian Fish, he added.

Martin said the people of Kincolith have been handling the flood situation quite well, knowing that communities’ in the Northwest pull together when they need to.

“The people here are very resilient,” he said. “we are taking it in our stride.”

Until several years ago, there was no road to the village and locals depended upon water transportation or floatplanes for supplies.

During his visit to Terrace this weekend, John Les, the province’s public safety minister, said First Nations communities were working with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, the Provincial Emergency Program, and First Nations emergency Social Services to determine the extent of the damage caused by the flood.

“We are seeing unprecedented integration,” he said.

Federal Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said discussions for funding for damaged communities is already taking place through Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.

A reprieve from last week’s excitement

The Daily News recaps the weekend developments on the flood front with a review of events from Friday til press time on Monday.

FLOODS EASE, HIGHWAY NO LONGER ‘ROAD TO NOWHERE’
Highway 16 is open again to Terrace and beyond as meltwater slows
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, June 11, 2007
Pages one and three

The raging waters fell, the highways re-opened to one-way traffic, and displaced people in the Northwest returned to their homes, following a drop in river levels this weekend.

However, 60 per cent of the snow pack still remains on the mountains and river levels could rise again if there is a streak of hot weather or heavy rainfall, cautioned John Les, the province’s public safety minister, from Terrace Saturday.

“This still might not be over yet and while we want to move on and get beyond this, let’s just be mindful that there’s still an awful lot of snow to melt,” Les said while touring the flood zone with federal Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.

“I’m told that old-timers around here are quiet aware of that,” Les said. “They said, historically, the river will come up and flood you once, it’ll back off and then come back and kick you again. I’m not saying or prophesying that will happen but it is something we need to be mindful of.”

On Sunday, the Ministry of Transportation reopened Highway 16 between Terrace and Prince Rupert to single-lane alternating traffic with up to 20 minute delays.

The Skeena River fell by more than two metres between its peak Thursday and Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, east of Terrace, the Highway was also reopened in the mud-slide zone. However, it remains closed to traffic from 10 p. m. to 6 am until further notice. An alternate route between Terrace and Kitwanga via the Cranberry Forest Service road is available.

The flooding on the highway also stopped rail service and caused problems for CityWest and Pacific Northern Gas.

CityWest confirmed that at 4 a. m. Friday morning, the fibre connection went off line between Terrace and Prince Rupert.

CityWest officials said at the time they would not know the extent of the damage until the water levels dropped enough to allow them to survey the site. They were reportedly out looking at the problem on Sunday.

Rob Brown General Manager of CityWest said the company had an emergency plan in case of such an event. Ledcor Technical Services, the company that engineered the fibre optic line has been called but they cannot begin work until the area is sage.

Three customers lost service due to the fibre failure but all are now back in service running on emergency back-up systems. Internet customers in Prince Rupert may notice a slow down until further service can be restored.

Meanwhile, Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond confirmed that Pacific Northern Gas (PNG) is reporting a break in its natural gas line, just west of Terrace.

However, with larger customers being asked not to use gas and the public being asked to conserve natural gas, there should be enough gas left in the line not to result in a complete outage.

Hopefully, if we conserve gas they say it could last four days or more,” said Pond.

PNG was also out on Sunday surveying the situation via helicopter.

Trains back on the tracks, CN line re-opened

The CN line between Terrace and Prince Rupert has re-opened, allowing Prince Rupert to be re-connected with the rest of North America's suppliers and markets.

The Terrace Standard provided details of the CN announcement of Monday.

CN line open again
The Terrace Standard
2:40:31PM, Jun 11 2007

CN OFFICIALS confirmed that the CN line between Prince Rupert and Terrace opened this morning.

"They did an assessment and they did what was necessary to open up the lines this morning," said CN spokesperson Kelli Svedsen.

The trackbed of the CN line was wiped out due to flooding on the Skeena River on the morning on June 6, leaving businesses like Ridley Terminals and Prince Rupert Grain without an influx of product for shipping.

A semblance of normalcy

While the gas stations still seem to be out of gas and the natural gas pipeline and fibre optic link between Terrace and Rupert still needs to be fixed, things are being reported as returning to normal in the Northwest.

The Vancouver Province compiled the check list of woe and updated the province as to the state of their northern neighbours.

Some normalcy returning to Terrace and Prince Rupert
Andy Ivens
The Province
Monday, June 11, 2007

Life is taking on a semblance of normalcy in Terrace and Prince Rupert, which were almost cut off from the rest of B.C. by mudslides and flooded highways.

"The [flood] risk is not over in the northwest of the province, so we still have to remain cautious on that side," Jim Whyte, director of operations for the Provincial Emergency Program, said yesterday.

The Bulkley and Skeena rivers continued to fall, "but we still have some significant issues to deal with."

"The Pacific Northern Gas line between Terrace and Prince Rupert suffered a failure [Saturday] night," but there's still enough gas in the line to last perhaps until tomorrow, when the line is expected to be repaired.

PNG's Tom Leach said the failure occurred where the line crosses a back channel of the Skeena "due to high volumes of water."

Leach said the repair crews were expected to begin working last night and take two days to patch the line.

The coast guard vessel Sir Wilfrid Laurier dropped off 100,000 litres of diesel in Prince Rupert. A Petro-Canada barge loaded with fuel is expected in Prince Rupert today.

Don Ramsey of the Transportation Ministry said work is progressing well on the mudslide that shut down Highway 16 east of Terrace on May 28.

The highway was reopened for daylight travel on Saturday.

About 25 kilometres west of Terrace, Highway 16 was open to alternating one-lane traffic.
CN Rail hopes to restore service today or tomorrow.

- A blocked pipe caused the City of Terrace to pump treated effluent into the Skeena River from its sewage lagoons.

That triggered boil-water advisories for the communities of Braun's Island, New Remo and Old Remo downstream.

aivens@png.canwest.com

When you want your flooded road fixed, who you gonna call?

The flood Busters. That could be the nickname given to the CN crews that fixed the breach in the CN ballast, a breach that allowed the Skeena to flow over the Yellowhead highway, isolating Prince Rupert from Terrace last week.

CN crews worked feverishly to plug the gap that at one point allowed three kilometres of the highway to be covered by the river. Their hard work gained them a round of congratulations from Don Ramsay a senior transportation official who credits the crews with allowing the Transportation Ministry to get on with rebuilding the roadway.

Which should be a daunting task, there are two separate areas where large holes have opened up, one of which is some 15 feet deep and fifty feet wide.

However, the road is open to traffic, with sections for alternating traffic flows in each direction.

CN workers given thumbs up
DUSTIN QUEZADA
CN WORKERS have managed to block off the flow of water through the railbed and on to Hwy16 west of Prince Rupert.

The Terrace Standard
Jun 10 2007

A SENIOR transportation official is crediting CN workers in helping open Hwy16 between Terrace and Prince Rupert earlier today.

Don Ramsay said the highway would still be flooded by the Skeena River and closed had not CN workers be successful in plugging a huge gap in the railbed along the Shames Flat.

"It was not so much that the water was receding," said Ramsay about the highway opening. "CN managed to plug that dike and after that the water drained away. They did really good work."

He said CN workers used giant sandbags to plug a breach estimated to be 30 to 40 metres in size.

Water began pouring through the CN railbed the afternoon of June 5 as a surging Skeena River placed heavy pressure against it. The railbed there is above the level of the highway and looks like a dike. CN officials, however, say the ballast foundation permits water to pour through.

At the height of the flood, water covered about nearly 3 kilometres of highway along the Shames Flat.

"As the water shot through that breach it reached the other side of the highway, the north side. It then created a channel on that side and worked its way along, covering one lane. Then it worked its way back, covering the other lane," said Ramsay.

The highway was open to single lane traffic noon today.

As it is, there are two large holes in the roadway and traffic is being diverted around them.
"One of the holes is 15 feet deep and 50 feet wide," said Ramsay.

The noon hour opening officially means no northwest highway is now closed. Both the Nass Highway and Hwy16 east and west of Terrace were closed around the same time on June 5, a day after the Skeena began to rise because of melting snow caused by very hot weather.

Although the Skeena is still officially in a flood stage, the level has dropped nearly three metres since Thursday.

Conservation the word until gas line break can be repaired

Prince Rupert residents are asked to use a bit of conservation of their natural gas supplies as Pacific Northern Gas works to fix a ruptured line west of Terrace.

The rupture in a remote area that isn't accessible by road has been examined by PNG officials and they are working out the logistics to bring in the equipment by air to fix the problem as soon as possible.

The Terrace Daily online website had a few details on the break in the line, and radio stations in Terrace and Rupert have been running reports on the rupture for most of the day. The CFTK website offered up the following on it's portal.


PNG Line Break
CFTK News
June 10, 2007

Pacific Northern Gas is using a helicopter to take crews to fix the ruptured line between Prince Rupert and Terrace . The break- located 50 kilometres west of Terrace- can't be reached by road.

Operations Manager Craig Sears says the line burst under pressure from floodwaters and should be fixed within the next few days.

Prince Rupert residents and industry are encouraged to conserve, but Sears says there should be enough gas in the line to last out the next few days.

Hawk Air to the rescue

The Daily News on Friday featured a story about the resourcefulness of Hawk air in Terrace, in coming to the aid of some stranded students earlier in the week. The story about a class from Roosevelt which found itself on the wrong side of the flood made the front page of Friday's paper.

As that paper was going to print on Friday, Hawk Air once again had been pressed into action by providing the same service for a group of Annunciation students, who like the ones from Roosevelt earlier in the week were in Terrace for an annual school camp out.

With the water still high and road access cut off, they too ended up flying the friendly skies of Hawk Air on Friday afternoon, returning home tired, but none the worse for wear for their own reunion with family and friends that evening.

A good bit of work by Hawk Air and one that the community will no doubt remember for a number of years.

No river wide enough to keep students from home
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, June 08, 2007

A group of students from Roosevelt Park Community School are back home safely after being caught by surprise on the east side of the flood that quickly closed off Highway 16 earlier this week.

Roosevelt principal Steve Riley said the pre-teens were on three-day Discovery camping trip on Lakelse outside of Terrace when the river broke over the highway Tuesday.

"It was incredibly difficult to get anyone to give you any information on what was happening with the roads -if they were going to flood, should you stay, should you go," said Riley.

The school group saw the high water levels in the Skeena as they drove to the campsite on Monday and as soon as they arrived, Riley and staff started trying to find out if it was okay to stay, "Before we unpacked, I called the RCMP and they hadn't heard anything. Then I phoned the radio stations and the road report, and City of Terrace and nothing," he said.

They made more inquiries Tuesday morning and were told there was no problem. So, the kids kept canoeing and enjoying their trip and two hours later, they got word there was water on the road.

They quickly cleared the camp and raced their gear into the cars.

"We crashed the camp but we missed it by a half an hour," said Riley.

Turned back from the highway, the kids were anything but depressed about being stuck at the camp.

"The kids were absolutely thrilled, when they found out we couldn't get back to Rupert. They all cheered. It wasn't like they were upset," said Riley.

On Wednesday, school staff managed to arrange a flight on Hawkair from Terrace to Prince Rupert.

The kids broke camp for the second time, with teachers leaving their vehicles behind to head home by air.

Parent Laurie Nyce said the school kept in touch with all the parents throughout the three days, and for her son Jared, the situation wasn't so much an emergency as it was an exciting experience.

"It's been something different for the kids, some of them have never been away from home before," said Nyce. "Jared has had quite the adventure."

Riley confirmed about half the students got their first plane ride on this trip.

"You know, normally things are a bit tense on the airplane when you take off, but when we took off they all cheered," he said.

Still, when the big yellow bus pulled into downtown Wednesday afternoon, there were a lot of hugs and kisses from anxious parents happy to have their kids home.

While it wasn't quite the camp they planned, Riley said he was proud of the students - they worked together well in teams and showed how they could handle themselves in changing situations.

"It was a good experience for them," he said.

The students and teachers weren't the only ones caught off guard by the flood. From the time the decision was made to close the road, it took about three hours for the message to spread and a number of people who were racing to get through were turned back as RCMP cleared the 140 kilometres stretch of all remaining traffic.

Earlier this week, Allan Chapman of the province's River Forecast Centre, described the Skeena as a "flashy river" that can rise quite quickly and without warning.

A number of people from Terrace are reportedly staying in Prince Rupert either in hotels, with friends or on fishing vessels until they can make arrangements to get home.

Looking for alternate road access out of Terrace

The flooding and mudslides of the last week or so has brought home the need in Terrace for a reliable and safe alternate route of the city for the future. The first topic of debate seems to be an upgrade of the much discussed Cranberry Connector, the roughed out logging road that has become the lifeline of Terrace and points south and west these last couple of weeks.

‘Cranberry Connector must be brought up to speed’
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, June 08, 2007

Communities in the Northwest need federal assistance and an upgrade to the Cranberry Connector in order to recover from present and prevent future disasters, say the region's federal and provincial politicians.

"A single stretch of Highway 16 is the only road that connects the communities of Terrace, Kitimat and Prince Rupert to the rest of the province," said North Coast MLA Gary Coons.
"When that road is cut off, as it has been for most of the last week, it puts pressure on the whole Northwest region, including Haida Gwaii."

The Cranberry Connector is a logging road that connects New Aiyansh to Highway 37 North, just south of Meziadin Junction.

"The Cranberry Connector is the only logical upgrade," said Coons.

"Grocery store shelves are emptying, gas stations are running out of gasoline and people are concerned that it will be days before roads are open. It's time for the government to make a real investment in the safety and well-being of northern residents."

Although upgrading the Cranberry Connector would not help the current situation with the Highway between Terrace and Prince Rupert closed, it would certainly help Terrace residents who have seen their highway cut off on both sides of the city, and unlike Prince Rupert do not have the option of barging in goods.

In addition to pointing out that without upgrades area residents may be stranded or left without essential goods and services, Coons cited several reasons why upgrading the Cranberry Connector makes good economic sense.

"This region is already struggling economically and disruptions in economic activity caused by road closures further exacerbate an already delicate economic situation," said Coons.

"Upgrading and maintaining the Connector would not only facilitate the smooth movement of goods and services in times of need, it would also serve as a vital route for much needed economic development in this region through tourism."

The government maintains that residents along Highway 16 are used to periodic road closures and Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon has said that upgrading the Cranberry Connector is too costly to consider.

"It's insulting and demeaning for Transportation Minister Falcon to suggest that we are used to such road closures and should simply accept this level of social and economic disruption," said Coons.

"If the Campbell government can find billions of dollars for road upgrades in the Lower Mainland and Whistler, and billions to spend on a two-week Olympic binge, then surely they can find the money to put towards vital transportation infrastructure in the North."

Meanwhile, Skeena MLA Robin Austin and Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen are calling for federal assistance for those who have had their homes damaged.

"The minister (Solicitor General John Les) should be on the phone today, getting assurances that the communities in this region will get the help they need from the federal government," said Austin.

He added that the provincial government needs to step up to the plate as well. Despite improvements to dikes this spring, more work needs to be done.

"Studies show that there needs to be additional investments of $35 to $40 million per year for the next several years to ensure that all dike systems in the province are up to the task," said Austin. "The provincial government has known about this problem, but has been too slow to respond."

Cullen also said it takes too long for the federal government to announce assistance in crisis situations, and the Conservative government must reassure anxious residents and business owners that help is on the way.

"Why wait to reassure people?" asked Cullen. "In major floods of the past decade, the federal government took nearly a week to announce aid. Time is needed to make full assessments after waters recede, but as people are packing up their belongings and moving to higher ground, the government should be telling them that financial help is on the way."

And then there's the gas pipeline

CJFW Radio News at 11 reported that the gas pipeline between Terrace and Rupert has ruptured west of Terrace. Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond is quoted by the radio station as saying that there is enough gas in the system to last a couple of days.

There is no advisory on the City website or the PNG website yet, but we assume that as things become more clear that some kind of information will be forthcoming. Unconfirmed reports have it that the rupture took place around the Shames Mountain area, which has seen a number of problems develop with railroad tracks and highway roadbed.

As we saw on Wednesday panic is an easy thing to create, so we suspect that everyone will be showering as long as possible for the next couple of days just to make sure that the natural gas gets used up as soon as possible.

Northern Health issues boil water advisory for areas west of Terrace

Northern Health issued a boil water advisory for Brauns Island, New Remo and Old Remo downstream of Terrace. That after due to an emergency sewage discharge into the Skeena River from City of Terrace sewage lagoons, a decision that the Ministry of Environment authorized in order to maintain the integrity of the lagoons.

See news release here.

Tourism industry concerned about reputation

Tourism operators from Prince George westward are hoping that things return to normal relatively quickly in Northern BC, concerned that successive years of transportation troulbes may impact on the tourism industry for years to come.

From last years Queen of the North disaster, to this years flooding problems, tour operators and industry participants have fears of tour providers looking to less complicated parts of the country to steer their customers.

The Prince George Citizen featured the story on its website.


Tourism sector feeling impact from flooding
(News) 16 hrs, 50 min. ago
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff

Disruption of rail service and closure of Highway 16 due to high flood levels in northwestern B.C. is not only hurting business for local bed and breakfasts, but throwing long-planned holidays into disarray, local operators say.

Sharron McBride of the Prince George Bed and Breakfast Hotline said the events have had a "definite impact on the B and Bs" in terms of cancellations and just as important, they've thwarted vacations that have been planned sometimes years in advance.

"It's difficult because some of them are supposed to get cruises up to Alaska from Prince Rupert," she said. "One couple (from Honolulu) that one lady told me about, they were supposed to go on a sailing ship out of the Queen Charlottes and now they're desperately trying to get there.

"The sad part is these are vacations that people have planned sometimes two-to-five years from other parts of the world. Usually the Europeans book us six months to a year ahead ... it's just that mother nature had other plans."

Unable to travel through to Prince Rupert since Tuesday, VIA Rail's Skeena train service has been forced to stop short at Prince George since Tuesday before heading back to Jasper. And Highway 16 west of the Highway 37 junction remains closed.

Tourism Prince George manager Deborah Kulchiski said an advisory has been distributed to visitor information centres throughout B.C. warning about the closure and asking travel counsellors to provide alternate routes and plans.

Visitor’s travelling to destinations in northern B.C., Yukon and Alaska are being encouraged to travel either Highway 16 and 37, or Highway 97 north.

Arbor Bed and Breakfast owner Julie Griffiths said she's lost guests and is still waiting for word on whether those booked for the weekend will be arriving.

"There's a lot of uncertainty," said Griffiths, who is also the northern B.C. representative of the B.C. Innkeepers. "It's a big dilemma for the B and B operators as to whether or not to assume these people aren't coming and then when other people phone up to reserve rooms, do you tell them the room's full when the likelihood of these people showing up isn't huge."

She's also concerned about long-term fallout if the situation continues much longer.

"There are a lot of tour companies that book the Jasper, Prince George, Prince Rupert, down the Inland Passage route and last year we had the sinking of the ferry that just messed everything up and this year we have this," she said.

"My long-range concern is some of these groups are going to quit looking at that tour as being one of the premier things to do in western Canada and it takes years and years to overcome that kind of thing."

All eyes on the snow pack

While the water receeded a bit in Terrace today and Smithers caught a breath or two as well, provincial officials are warning that all the danger is not over just yet.

The Globe and Mail website provides a number of extra features on their flood coverage, which you can check out here.

B.C. snow pack still a concern
Canadian Press
June 9, 2007 at 10:42 PM EDT

TERRACE, B.C. — British Columbia's public safety minister says that while flooding has eased in northwestern part of the province the area is still prone to more problems if the snow pack melts too quickly.

John Les flew over flooded parts of Terrace on Saturday with federal Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and said 60 per cent of the snow pack remains.

"This still might not be over yet and while we want to move on and get beyond this let's just be mindful that there' still an awful lot of snow to melt," Mr. Les said.

A heavy rainfall or a spell of hot weather would melt the snow and bring the water level in the Skeena River back up again.

"I'm told that old-timers around here are quite aware of that," Mr. Les said. "They said historically the river will come up and flood you once, it'll back off and then come back and kick you again. I'm not saying or prophesying that will happen but it is something we need to be mindful of."

For now, cooler-than-seasonal temperatures have slowed snow melt.

Mr. Les said people whose homes have been damaged are eligible for disaster financial relief of up to $300,000.

Mr. Day said money from $33-million in funding by the federal and provincial governments allowed two dikes in Terrace to be upgraded before the flood came.

That saved the local sewage plant and several homes from being flooded, he said.

But Mayor Jack Talstra said dikes should be in place for the entire community along the Skeena River and he will be discussing that issue with both levels of government.

"We've had about three floods now in the last eight years, this one by far the worst, and we don't know if it's climate change or global warming or what it is but more of them are coming," he said.
Mr. Talstra also called on the provincial government to upgrade an old logging road residents have been using since Highway 16 was closed.

Trucks have been using the Cranberry Connector to bring groceries and other supplies to the area.

Co-operation from the weather allowed residents from Braun's Island to return to their homes on Friday after three days but they remain on evacuation alert in case of more flooding.

That means people should be prepared to leave again on short notice if the flood situation changes.

Access to the island is restricted to local residents.

Don Ramsay, a Transportation Ministry official, said Highway 16 east of Terrace was opened to truck traffic early Saturday and then to all traffic later in the afternoon because the water level had dropped significantly.

The highway will be closed at 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. Sunday to allow for upgrading needed after a mudslide on May 28, he said.

Allan Chapman, a spokesman for the River Forecast Centre, said the Skeena River has dropped almost two metres from its peak at noon on Thursday, while the Nass River has dropped almost one metre.

In Golden, B.C., however, flooding is occurring in the Columbia River, which is almost at its peak, Mr. Chapman said, adding it won't be receding until later Sunday.

Jim Whyte, director of operations for the provincial emergency program, said 80 homes around B.C. are still under evacuation order and about 1,200 homes remain on evacuation alert.

Mr. Whyte said flooding is still occurring along the Fraser River in Prince George, which is still isolated.

A barge shipment of fuel will be sent to the area later Saturday, he said.

The Canadian Coast Guard vessel Wilfred Laurier will also be transporting diesel fuel to Prince Rupert for emergency vehicles, Mr. Whyte said.

However, the southern Peace River region was put on a flood watch Saturday.

The situation affect the communities of Chetwynd, Tumbler Ridge, Hudson Hope, Mackenzie and Finlay River.

A high stream flow advisory for the region was upgraded to a flood watch as a result of intense heat last week which produced extremely high rates of snowmelt.

Meanwhile, the city of Richmond is inspecting its dikes daily during the flood threat and measuring the area's river levels.

Residents are also being reminded to have an emergency preparedness plan and enough food and supplies on hand for 72 hours.

Richmond's dikes were constructed well above the highest flood level heights ever recorded in 1894, city spokesman Ted Townsend said in a statement.

"The city has done some precautionary sandbagging in some areas and is prepared to mobilize a broader response on short notice should risk levels increase."

Slight improvements in Terrace

The Skeena pulled back for now over the last day, allowing Terrace residents to survey some damage and a highway and railway officials to begin to reconstruct and clear some of the patches of the transportation grid that have become damaged over the last week.

For Terrace residents anxious about supplies to their city, Highway 16 was opened east bound to truck traffic only, as transport trucks were allowed to travel through the mudslide area and the water logged portions of the highway that were closed yesterday. Smaller trucks and vehicles are not allowed through the area at the moment and are still contemplating whether using the Cranberry Connector is worth the wear and tear on their vehicles.

Skeena waters recede
The Terrace Standard
By Dustin Quezada

4:59:54PM, Jun 09 2007

VIEW OF Skeena Street from above shows the extent of the drop in the Skeena River the morning of June 9.

Skeena St. on the south side of Terrace was one of the first streets to flood in the evening hours of June 4 when the Skeena first began to rise thanks to a surge of melted snow caused by hot weather.

Federal public safety minister Stockwell Day and his provincial counterpart, John Les, surveyed the area by helicopter today.

Also in a helicopter was Skeena Bulkley Valley NDP MP Nathan Cullen and Skeena NDP MLA Robin Austin. The pair have been urging both the provincial and federal governments to provide assistance and financial compensation to those affected by flood waters in the northwest.

As of this afternoon, the Skeena River has dropped approximately 2 metres from peak periods reached on Thursday.

The federal and provincial governments have provided more than $33 million for
88 urgent flood mitigation projects at various locations throughout British
Columbia. As well, the two governments have spent an additional $15 million
combined on flood preparation and response.

Highway 16 east open to trucks
The Terrace Standard
11:08:30AM, Jun 09 2007

Effective 11 a.m. this morning, Highway 16 East of Terrace was opened for large transport trucks only. This does not include pick-up trucks. The highway will be closed again between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The Cranberry Connector is still available under scheduled openings for smaller vehicles. It's a system of controlled traffic flowing in alternate directions.

Nisga'a highway reopens
The Terrace Standard
10:55:41AM, Jun 09 2007

The Nisga'a highway between Canyon City (Gitwinksihlkw) and Greenville (Laxgalts'ap)reopened this morning at approximately 9 a.m. Traffic is alternating, single-lane. The highway had shut down Monday due to the Nass river flooding a kilometre of the road.

Braun's Island residents allowed to go home
The Terrace Standard
6:20:44PM, Jun 08 2007

The Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine has lifted the Evacuation
Order for Braun's Island.

This comes thanks to a drop in the level of the Skeena River, decreasing the risk of danger to life and property.

"While residents are being allowed back on Braun's Island they should be aware, the island is now under an Evacuation Alert and they should be prepared to leave on short notice, should the flood situation change," the regional district said.

Access to the island is restricted to local residents, who should be aware their homes will still be without electricity or gas service.

Returning residents will be given contact information regarding hydro and gas safety and reconnections, food safety and clean-up tips.

The regional district adivises that an evacuation alert remains in effect for Usk, Old Remo, New Remo, Dutch Valley and the Queensway area of Thornhill. These alerts affect about 260 homes.
The Evacuation Order for Braun's Island was issued on June 6, and affected about 50 homes.
For more information, call the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine at 1-250-615-6100.

Greenville residents have exit option
The Terrace Standard
4:41:55PM, Jun 08 2007

ANYONE WHO wants to leave Greenville can leave if they wish despite the Nisga'a highway being closed since Tuesday due to floods, says a village council member.

William Moore says about one kilometre of the Nisga'a highway is covered in water, but zodiak boats with supplies are zipping across the moat.

If Greenville residents want to leave their homes, they can cross in the same manner.
Initially, residents who needed special care such as medical attention or the elderly were evacuated but if someone really wants to go, they can, Moore says.

The boats will likely be bringing supplies in at least once a day, Moore says.

For the most part, however, people are dealing with the situation just fine, according to Moore.
"Things are quite well considering we are isolated now," he says. "I wouldn't say it's exactly normal but people seem to be coping quite well."

"Our emergency group has been geared up for the last month and a half to two months," said Moore who estimates 25,000 sandbags have been filled and half of those placed.

So far no houses in the village have been waterlogged and according to Moore, the river would have to rise by about 1.5 metres to touch even the most vulnerables one.

Five metres more would cover the whole village, but that's not expected to happen, he says estimating that the river rose three metres in the last week.

The water has leveled and if the weather cooperates and stays cool, we'll be fine, Moore says.
"Essentially we are at the mercy of the weather. If there is a sudden warming trend, we can expect the water to rise suddenly."

"It's a waiting game," he says.

Moore adds that the recent upgrades on the Nisga'a highway have helped.

"Only one part is under water instead of half the road," he says.

No estimate has been given of when the highway will reopen as it depends on how quickly the water recedes.

In the meantime, with the help of Kincolith community members from down the road, Greenville residents continue to sandbag.

Kincolith has not yet flooded as it is on higher ground.

"A very prolonged flood event"

While Friday appeared to be a good day for Terrace, Smithers and other northwest communities hit by flooding waters, a Globe and Mail article suggests that this part of the province is not out of the woods yet.

With rain coming ashore early Saturday morning in Prince Rupert and moving east and temperatures warming up a bit, the potential for more flooding on the numerous waterways of the region increases.

Allan Chapman, head of B.C.'s River Forecast Centre is quoted as saying that "The message for that Skeena-Bulkley area, the northwest corner of the province, is most of the rivers up there are experiencing over-bank flow and some of the flooding ... is of record nature."

With a huge snow pack still in area mountains, the region may be on floodwatch for a number of weeks yet as nature chooses the time and path of its liking.

Hope appears amid rising waters
Fraser River expected to peak over weekend, but bleaker picture painted for northwest
IAN BAILEY
June 8, 2007

VANCOUVER -- Northwestern British Columbia remained swamped by floodwaters yesterday and facing a crisis for the foreseeable future, but officials forecast some hope for the Fraser Valley near the Lower Mainland in days ahead.

The Fraser River at Mission is now expected to peak in the mid-six-metre range by tomorrow and through Monday. Areas not protected by dikes may see some flooding.

Allan Chapman, head of B.C.'s River Forecast Centre, predicted higher river flows than in 1999 when some unprotected areas of the Lower Mainland were flooded.

"As long as those same flows are currently forecast, then we would have to expect again some flooding in some areas," he said. "Not a lot of areas, probably not a lot of damage, and not a lot of homes involved, but we do see the possibility there will be some flooding in unprotected areas," he said in a daily conference call to brief the news media on the situation.

But officials sketched a bleaker scenario for the northwest, with Mr. Chapman referring to "a very prolonged flood event" occurring on the Skeena River near Terrace, and the Nass River.
"The water is still rising as we speak," he said, referring to the Skeena. "It is going to continue rising today, tomorrow, perhaps peaking some time tomorrow, but staying well above flood stage through the weekend, into next week, and probably right through to the end of next week."

Smithers, on the Bulkley River, was also facing a flood risk and "at a maximum flood stage," he said.

"The message for that Skeena-Bulkley area, the northwest corner of the province, is most of the rivers up there are experiencing over-bank flow and some of the flooding ... is of record nature."
Mr. Chapman said the prospect of large frontal rain in the northwest was "the most critical factor" in the flood situation for the next two weeks, suggesting it could affect the entire Fraser River system.

Frontal rain is caused by the cold front or warm front produced when two air masses meet.
That might bring 30 to 60 millimetres of rain to the watershed.

That would be the most dominant weather-risk issue, but Mr. Chapman said that was not foreseen in the weather models.

"We have some rain coming in on the weekend, looking like lighter amounts, moving too fast. Without rain in the next two weeks, this will be the peak of the spring."

Jim Whyte, operations director for the Provincial Emergency Program, said the northwest is facing a bleak situation. Over all in B.C. yesterday, 125 homes had been ordered evacuated and 1,100 homes were on alert status.

"We have water three feet up the sides of houses and people are out of their homes, and they are going to be out of their homes for probably seven to 10 days minimum," Mr. Whyte said, referring to the northwest.

He said the situation was "probably not as severe as it could have been."

But he added: "If it was your home that got flooded, trust me, it's severe. It's a really devastating situation to have your home flooded and to have to return to that.

"That's where we're focusing our efforts, dealing with those people, making sure those people are safe. At the end of it, it will be a recovery phase of getting those people back in their homes, and restoring their lives to normal."

Harvey Sasaki, assistant deputy minister for agriculture, said cattle at risk in the Fraser Valley continue to be moved to safety, with some area farmers in the clear agreeing to shelter animals from neighbouring operations.

"It has reduced the necessity for us to look to places like Washington State for capacity to accommodate those animals," he said.

He also said there was a possibility of turning to farmers on Vancouver Island for assistance if necessary.

Floods eastward causing woes to the west

The Queen Charlotte Islands are feeling the pressure of the closed highway to Terrace and a sense of frustration is bubbling over as Islanders feel that only Prince Rupert is being taken care of by the Provincial government.

The Queen Charlotte Islands Observer captures the mood of the Islands quite well with its recent articles to their website.

Mainland flood causing freight problems here
The Queen Charlotte Islands Observer
June 8, 2007

Island grocers are frustrated, trying to negotiate a way to get goods around flooded and landslide-blocked roads along the Skeena River.

In Masset, Delmas Co-op general manager Richard Clarmont says he's been trying to confirm whether his shipment will make it on island early next week, but BC Ferries is the latest hitch in his plans.

Both Co-ops on island are supplied out of a warehouse in Edmonton. Mr. Clarmont was able to reroute food trucks to Nanaimo and onward to Port Hardy to arrive in Prince Rupert on Monday night, but this itinerary misses the Skidegate-bound ferry by one and a half hours.
He's hoping to talk with someone at BC Ferries to see if the islands' ferry could wait so his two 55-foot trailers would make it aboard, but had no luck on Friday.

If his groceries don't make it on the Monday night boat, islanders will have to wait until next Friday for more supplies.

Werner Funk at City Centre in Queen Charlotte is having similar frustrations. Although his supplier in Vancouver has offered to ship through Port Hardy, Mr. Funk can only secure room for 12 skids on a reefer truck to the islands. This will not include his bread and milk order. He says he doesn't know where the bread truck, which is usually routed through Terrace and the milk truck are now.

He looked into bringing up a trailer on a barge, but the cost would have been around $10,000.
According to MLA Gary Coons, the province is stepping up with a subsidy of $75,000 to help Prince Rupert get fuel to the city. Mr. Coons said his office has been getting phone calls from suppliers and businesses on the islands. They're telling him the cost of barging is too much.
The extra cost could drive the price of a jug of milk up to $10, said Mr. Coons, unless the province steps in.

Mr. Funk wasn't surprised to hear that Prince Rupert is receiving a subsidy to help bring fuel up.

“They don't care about us anyway, there are no roads to here. They are accommodating Rupert and that is all,” he said.

Mr. Clarmont says both BC Ferries and the Ministry of Highways have been difficult to get information out of. He says it is impossible to try and get someone to talk to, even if it is just to say, we don't have any more information at this time.

Rerouting his trailers to Port Hardy is going to cost $3,000 to $4,000 per trailer on top of the regular freight costs.

Kerry Laidlaw, site manager at the Queen Charlotte Islands General Hospital says they are in good shape for supplies and his vendors will ship through Port Hardy if necessary. He says the hospital had a flood plan in place and ensured they got extra oxygen on island in advance. As for medicines, he has a standing agreement with the hospital in Prince Rupert to get things here by floatplane if necessary.

He is anticipating there will be a backlog of island specialist visits, as many are sent to Kitimat and Terrace as well as Rupert. But he hasn't heard of any specific issues around this yet.

Ferry space at a premium
The Queen Charlotte Islands Observer
June 8, 2007

Several passengers have had to cancel their ferry reservations this week due to the floods which have closed Highway 16 east of Prince Rupert, says BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall. However, their empty spots have been filled with supplies coming to the islands via Port Hardy, Ms Marshall said. "Goods are getting through," she said. BC Ferries is giving refunds to passengers whose travel plans have been affected by the flood, she said.

Meanwhile, as of Wednesday (June 6) BC Ferries is keeping space open on the Queen of Prince Rupert and the Northern Adventure for essential freight like groceries and medical supplies, she said. That means some customers may not be able to book space for the next few days, as long as the flood situation lasts.

In Terrace the river drops for now and so does the price of gas!

A stable day for folks in Terrace as the Skeena seems to settle at a level for now, though an anxious eye is still cast skywards for weather and mountain flows to come.

And while they had a run on gas over the last few days (just like another city we all might know), things are looking up in the fuel situation there as well.

Petro Can sent a truck from Prince George into Terrace via the Cranberry connector overnight with a fresh supply for the local station. And there's a break for the flood weary residents, the price of gas has dropped by two cents to 1.17 a litre there.

A pricing structure that will be of interest to folks in Prince Rupert who were paying 125.9 before the tanks went dry in town.

The Terrace Standard provided two stories on the developments of the day and also included a link to a photo page with more pictures of the happenings in Terrace.

http://orca.bcnewsgroup.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=skeenaflood2007


Price of gas drops
The Terrace Standard
10:26:27AM, Jun 08 2007

ONE OF two local gas stations that ran out after rumours of pending shortages spread through the town Wednesday has had its storage tanks re-filled.

The Copperside Petrocan station in Thornhill was re-opened this morning but the company's Shell station in Terrace remains closed, says company official Chris Moldenhauer.

"I'm not worried about the fuel situation anymore. Petrocan got some from Prince George through the Cranberry Connector," he said.

It's not known when a Shell tanker will come over the Connector.

Not only is fuel flowing over the Connector, but the price per litre has dropped from yesterday to today.

From yesterday's price of $119.9 a litre for regular gas, it is now $117.9.

Skeena River level drops
The Terrace Standard
8:24:43AM, Jun 08 2007

THE SKEENA RIVER as measured at Usk east of Terrace dropped overnight, say provincial officials.

It's helped that there has been no rain and that temperatures have remained cool.

Rain and hot weather would have each swollen the Skeena River and others northwestern rivers, adding to flooding which has already forced people from their homes.

A slight warming trend is expected today, but no significant rain is forecast.

The next system is expected to move through coastal areas on Saturday and the Skeena area is forecast to receive light rain, with 10-15mm in the Bulkley Valley.

Unsettled weather is forecast for Sunday and Monday as the system moves through.

Hwy16 east and west of Terrace and the Nisga'a Highway in the Nass Valley remain closed and will stay closed until the rivers recede and crews can assess damage.