The Village of Pemberton declared a state of emergency on Tuesday afternoon, amid rising flood threat from a series of winter storms.
The village also issued evacuation orders for six properties on Airport Road: 1643, 1674, 1690, 1710, 1730, and 1850, along with an evacuation alert for all low-lying properties adjacent to the Arn Canal, Vine Road and the Highway 99 Mobile Home Park.
People living in the affected properties are being told to pre-pack essentials and to be prepared to leave on a moment’s notice.
“The acting dike there is actually Airport Road itself and the water started to come over and there’s a little percolation underneath so for the safety of the folks in that area we decided to put the order on,” Pemberton Mayor Mike Richman told Global News.
“Of course if something does breach and something happens quickly we can go to an evacuation order for everybody … for specific areas so it’s important for people to be ready, have a bag packed is always a good thing, we know that.”
Vancouver Island and much of the South Coast were under flood warnings or watches on Tuesday, as the province was rocked by back-to-back storms marked by warm temperatures and heavy rainfall.
The B.C. River Forecast Centre has issued warnings for the Squamish River and its tributaries, including the Cheakamus River, as well as the Lilloeet River near Pemberton.
Watches are in effect for the Sumas River, Howe Sound, the Sunshine Coast, the Sea-to-Sky region, and the rest of the North Shore Mountains, as well as Vancouver Island.
High streamflow advisories are issued for Lower Fraser River tributaries, the Fraser Canyon and the rest of the Fraser Valley. The North Coast, including tributaries around Kitimat and Prince Rupert, are also under advisories.
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The storms have already brought between 80 and 300 millimetres of rain to various parts of B.C. since last Friday. Another storm is expected Tuesday night and into Wednesday, according to B.C. River Forecast Centre hydrologist Dave Campbell.
He said the centre is keeping a close eye on the Squamish River in particular.
“That’s where we’re really focused on this morning,” he told Global News.
“It’s pretty difficult to predict exactly where landslides might happen, but certainly when we see these kinds of conditions, it’s another risk associated with these kinds of storms.”
On Facebook, the Pemberton Animal Wellbeing Society said its building had flooded Tuesday morning, but Blackcomb Helicopters “bravely broke into” its shelter to rescue five puppies and their mother from the rising flood waters.
“The entire team at Blackcomb Helicopters then provided crucial shelter and care for these animals, demonstrating remarkable compassion and teamwork in our moment of crisis. Additionally, our heartfelt thanks go to Marieke, our dedicated volunteer, who braved the icy floodwaters to rescue other animals and secure essential emergency supplies,” the Pemberton Animal Wellbeing Society wrote.
Campbell said most rivers in the province have peaked since Monday’s storm, apart from the Squamish River and Somas River on Vancouver Island.
“We’ve got a little bit of a lull in the weather today but as we come into tomorrow, we’re expecting to see the next phase of storms coming through, so more rainfall tomorrow and the potential for increasing flows in the rivers as we go through the Wednesday-Thursday period,” he explained.
Environment Canada has warned that the storms are bringing warm temperatures, elevated freezing levels and periods of heavy rain to most of Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, Metro Vancouver and the North Shore.
Campbell said the unseasonably warm temperatures have already cost the North Shore much of its snowpack.
“Even in the last couple of days, we’ve seen upwards of 50 or 100 millimetres of snow water equivalent melting off the North Shore mountains,” he said.
“That’s a good chunk of how much snow is up there. We’ve had a low snowpack year so this is really eating into that and putting more pressure in the amount of snow that we have.”
Across B.C., the atmospheric river slashed 35 temperature records Monday, with Abbotsford reaching an astonishing 18.2 C.
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