Grand Forks ducks flood

The flood watch is not completely over for farmers and residents in Grand Forks, but there is good news.

Heavy rains over the weekend raised the Granby and Kettle rivers to flood stage May 31 and by end of the day on June 1, the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary’s Emergency Operations Centre had issued evacuation orders to 189 properties.

Frances Maika, communications officer with the regional district, says that several farmers in the Johnson Flats and Manly Meadows areas were affected.

“We do have people with livestock in those areas,” she says.

The farm properties remained under evacuation orders on June 2, by which time the Kettle River had crested and levels were dropping rapidly. But the majority of orders were rescinded, with Maika reporting just 13 properties evacuated “due to threats of erosion or lack of access.”

The region is not out of the woods, however. Environment Canada predicted a double whammy of temperatures approaching 30 degrees Celsius and heavy rain for the weekend but cooler weather accompanied the rain instead.

This means there’s plenty of snow left to melt at higher elevations, and the possibility of another round of evacuation orders. According to the regional district, the region’s snowpack remains above average and could yet result in flooding with the right conditions.

“We are not taking flood protection equipment out of Grand Forks yet,” says Maika. “While the next few days are expected to be dry, they are forecasting quite a bit of rain over the weekend.”

Over 1,000 properties remain on evacuation alert in the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary.