Lake to surpass 1948 flood level
Okanagan Lake rose another three centimetres Thursday morning, up to 342.98 metres above sea level.
The level of the lake was only two centimetres below the record high of 343 metres recorded during flooding in 1948, and officials expect the lake to rise beyond that level in the coming days as hot weather melts the snowpack. High temperatures are forecast to rise from 26 C today to 30 C by Sunday.
“We can expect that the lake will continue to rise over the weekend as the temperatures increase, and we’re anticipating that we’ll see some of the creeks that are fed from the upper elevations rise as well due to the warmer temperatures melting the snowpack,” said Bruce Smith, spokesperson for the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre. “We are encouraging people to continue to prepare and protect their properties to the recommended level of 343.6 metres.”
Sand and sandbags are continually being replenished at locations around the Central Okanagan.
“Tuesday night’s high winds were a good example of what could happen,” said Smith, referring to a storm that damaged docks and other lakeside property, “and it could potentially be even worse if we have strong winds with even higher lake levels, which we’re seeing.
“People shouldn’t be putting their guards down at this point.”
That’s especially true for some waterfront residents in West Kelowna and on the Westbank First Nation reserve who were placed on evacuation alert Thursday evening.
Alerts were issued for the 1300 and 1400 blocks of Green Bay Road, the 3600 block of Green Bay Landing, and the 3500 and 3600 blocks of Wiig Road in West Kelowna.
On the Westbank First Nation reserve, evacuation alerts were issued for waterfront lots from the William R. Bennett Bridge to Old Ferry Wharf Road and for several lakefront cabins on Lindley Road.
Meanwhile, creek flows in
Kelowna halved Thursday after a water surge triggered by Tuesday night’s storm.
Mission Creek was flowing at a rate of 40 cubic metres per second, down from 80 cubic metres per second in the early hours of Wednesday.
However, officials caution creek flows could rise again as the weather warms up during the weekend.