DAWSON CREEK – A day after torrential flooding destroyed multiple crossings and caused 60 homes to be evacuated, the City of Dawson Creek has declared a state of local emergency.
“After we assessed the damage that had happened during the storm and flooding, we felt moving into a local state of emergency was the next step,” said Mayor Dale Bumstead.
READ MORE: Waters recede in Dawson Creek after serious flooding splits city into two
Declaring a state of emergency allows Dawson Creek to access provincial and federal funding, and do work on private property.
The mayor said there was no need to declare a state of emergency on Thursday because the immediate recovery efforts did not require any special powers. Crews will be assessing what needs to be done over the weekend, and city council is expected to approve specific recovery measures on Monday.
“We didn’t need special powers yesterday in order to maneuver things. Now moving forward, we may need that state of emergency in order to undertake some of the cleanup tasks,” he said.
Dawson Creek experienced its all-time for rain in one day on June 15, with 89.8 millimetres.
“It’s amazing looking at the weather today, you wouldn’t have known two days ago we were in one of the worst situations I’ve ever seen,” said Mike Bernier, MLA for Peace River South.
Disaster Financial Assistance is now available to eligible British Columbians in the Peace River Regional District area who may have been impacted from the major flooding that occurred this past week.
Applications for DFA must be submitted to Emergency Management BC at this link. by Sept 15.
Approximately 418 properties were affected by flooding, and 213 are still stranded due to highway closures.
Many roads will be closed for days
Bumstead said they don’t believe any of the 60 homes evacuated yesterday have been destroyed, but the biggest challenge going forward will be repairing the many roads that were damaged or destroyed.
Highway 97 remains closed indefinitely between Chetwynd and Mackenzie, causing a day-long detour for anyone in B.C. wanting to access the Peace River region by road.
Highway 97 south from Chetwynd to Tumbler Ridge is also closed, and Highway 52 north to Dawson Creek is limited to single-lane alternating traffic.
“Now that the storm has passed, the priority is to reconnect the highways as quickly and safely as possible,” said Maria Butts, Ministry of Transportation District Manager for the Peace Region.
However, she cautioned that it would take several days to rebuild and repair the highways, and they encourage people who need to travel to northeast B.C. to go through Alberta via Highway 16 and 40.
Around Dawson Creek, several roads, including Rolla and Snake Pit, have had sections destroyed by flooding. Locally, the 8th and 10th Street crossings have reopened, but 17th Street is still closed and the 15th Street culvert is completely destroyed.
READ MORE: ‘I was happy to help’: Dawson Creek rallies after massive flooding
Watch below: A state of emergency has been declared in Dawson Creek, B.C. after serious flooding hit the region. Julia Wong has the latest.
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