Flooding worry prompts south Okanagan evacuation alert

Residents of nine properties south of Oliver have been told to prepare for the possibility they may need to leave quickly because of flooding concerns.

Those living in the area were originally told by emergency responders Monday night they needed to evacuate, but that was quickly deemed unnecessary.

Instead Regional District of Okanagan – Similkameen put the properties, which are in the area of Hester Creek, on evacuation alert on Monday evening.

Residents were informed of the alert by police going door-to-door.

The alert was put in place after debris in Hester Creek upstream from the evacuation alert area caused problems for the town of Oliver’s irrigation canal.

By the time the debris got to the alert area it had mostly dissipated.

However, officials were worried more saturated mud and debris from the creek bank could enter the creek causing more problems and put the evacuation alert in place as a precaution.

“A debris flood in Hester Creek dragged debris downstream which breached the banks of parts of Hester Creek, blocked culverts and diverted the flow of the creek. Due to the continued threat of sudden flooding, some properties at the bottom of Hester Creek have been placed on a precautionary evacuation alert,” said the regional district in a media release.

An evacuation alert means residents should get ready to evacuate their homes quickly if the need arises. However, it does not mean resident need to leave their homes.

The homes under evacuation alert are on Road 11 and Mariposa Road.

Meanwhile, due to the same incident and a similar situation in Tin Horn Creek, the Town of Oliver says it will not be able to provide irrigation water to three systems for days at it clears up debris.