In South Okanagan, threat of flooding far from over

Nearly 50,000 empty bags and 87 truckloads of sand have been distributed in the past two weeks to help with flood-prevention efforts, the board of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen heard Thursday.

“And we’re not done yet,” said emergency services supervisor Dale Kronebusch, as attention is shifting away from swollen creeks and streams to the rapidly rising Okanagan Lake.

As of noon Thursday, the lake surface stood at 342.76 metres above sea level — 28 centimetres over the desired peak target and just 29 cm below the all-time high.

Kronebusch said forecasters are predicting the lake will reach 343 metres and, with wave action on top of that, it could have dire consequences for waterfront homes and infrastructure.

“It’s important that we all keep cool heads, stay calm and help out where we can,” he added.

Kronebusch also gave a rundown on other areas of concern that have emerged within the RDOS since torrential rains on May 4 kicked the spring freshet into action.

Cawston-Rural Oliver: Creeks running off both sides of Mount Kobau are being filled with extra water and debris as a result of the 2015 Testalinden Creek fire.

“A lot of the vegetation has been burned and some of it is semi-sterilized soil, so it takes a while for those organics to get back in . . . to absorb some of the moisture, so a lot of (the water) is coming straight down,” Kronebusch said.

“We’re seeing a lot of trees and burned branches coming down as well, so that’s a clear sign that’s directly attributable to that fire.”

The water table is also higher than normal along the Okanagan River channel, causing flooding in some basements and crawl spaces.

Osoyoos: “In Osoyoos, there’s basically localized flooding in different creeks and so on,” Kronebusch told the board, “because we are seeing creeks are running a little bit stronger and with more volumes.”

Okanagan Falls: “We’re seeing evidence of Shuttleworth Creek starting to rise. It sort of comes up and down, and localized flooding is already happening there,” Kronebusch explained.

Naramata: “That’s been a real surprise for us this year. That’s where all the creeks went fairly high and fairly fast,” said Kronebusch.

“Chute Creek went to a point where it took out Chute Creek Road and the whole nine yards. We had some people that were there that had to shelter in place because they couldn’t get out.”

Six homes in the Indian Rock area were put on evacuation alert, while parts of the KVR Trail and Glenfir Road have been washed out.