Crews in Fairmont Hot Springs are still trying to clean the Fairmont Creek channel of debris so the water will be contained once more.
Due to the shifting water patterns, the river bank near Marble Canyon eroded away on Tuesday and the creek jumped its channel.
“The bank in this area is crumbling, so we are working to install some rock reinforcement,” said Loree Duczek with the Regional District of East Kootenay. “This work will be completed this afternoon, and the water will be directed into a temporary control channel. This will address the water that is flowing through downstream neighbourhood at the moment.”
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A slide occurred in the area on Sunday afternoon, and Duczek said the debris torrent carved a channel as it moved downstream. Four properties were damaged, a hotel had to be evacuated, and 600 campers in the campground at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort were stranded. During the peak of the incident, more than 350 people were out of their homes and condos.
Rebuilding the channel is a “massive job” said Duczek, and has to be done from the bottom to the top.
“The reason for this is that if you start cleaning out at the “top” of the debris field, you will open the channel and create more water flow,” she explained in an email. “That increased water flow (which will still have sedimentation) will move downstream and hit the debris below – creating the potential for more damming and a repeat of the situation we’ve already seen where the pressure builds up and a large debris field lets go.”
Duczek added that the Ministry of Transportation has been doing regular monitoring of the culverts to ensure any debris that accumulates near culverts is removed to keep water flowing.
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