Streamflow advisories in B.C. Interior

VANCOUVER — The centre that monitors river levels around British Columbia has issued high streamflow advisories for a large area of the province’s southern, central and southeastern Interior.

The River Forecast Centre said Thursday that it is too early in the season for significant flows in larger river systems, but smaller streams and tributaries fed by low-to-mid level snowpacks are at risk of high flows as the weather warms over the next several days.

Environment Canada is calling for temperatures in the low to mid-20s for most of southern B.C. through today, followed by wetter weather in the southeast.

The centre said there’s a particular concern about rivers rising near Cache Creek, Quesnel and Williams Lake in the central Interior.

The area was charred by wildfires last summer, leaving the ground unstable and without vegetation, which could make flooding worse.

Okanagan waterways in and around Osoyoos and Oliver, north to Kelowna and Vernon are also included in the advisory, while mid-elevation tributaries in the Cranbrook, Castlegar, Trail and Creston areas of southeastern B.C. are being watched closely, officials said.

Several properties in the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen remain evacuated north of Oliver because of persistent high water levels.

The district also ordered the evacuation of a property west of Penticton on Wednesday due to cracks in the soil above the home.