Nechako overflows at Morning Place
Asudden rise of water at a bend in the Nechako River is threatening homes. Sandbags and pumps have been deployed at Morning Place, where three homes have suffered flooding and a fourth is being watched closely. Prince George Fire Rescue was called out to the scene on Sunday shortly after 10 p.m.
“It looks like the ice just moved down river in one big chunk of not-totally-frozen ice,” PGFR chief John Iverson said Monday afternoon. “It reached a corner and kind of got stuck.
“The water is flowing nicely at Pozer Road and down at the Cameron Street overpass... this is the one area that seems to be affected.”
Iverson could not say how long the trouble might last. “We’ll be monitoring through the day and through the night and we’ll be doing a daily assessment on next steps,” he said.
While the sandbags and pumps have helped keep water out of the yards, Iverson said some water has percolated up through the ground and into basements.
He urged people to not only stay off the ice but to be careful along the river’s banks.
“With that warm weather, the snow and the ice is getting a little bit soft and I wouldn’t be getting too close,” Iverson said.
The situation remains a far cry from the winter of 200708 when a massive ice jam clogged the confluence of the Nechako and Fraser Rivers.
It sparked a 64-day state of emergency and caused significant property damage along River Road and PG Pulp Mill Road when it forced the Nechako to breach its banks and pushed groundwater up to the surface.
An engineer’s study later determined the jam was a onein-90-year event and noted it was preceded by a one-in-20year spring freshet.
The study also found that past events like it occurred only when there is a flow of at least 200 cubic metres per second and a temperature of -5 C or colder for 20 days.
About this time last year, Cottonwood Island Park was closed to the public for a period after ice clogged channels along both rivers.