After nearly breaching its banks on Saturday, Scotty Creek on the eastern edge of Kelowna is again flowing high and fast.
439 properties have been on evacuation alert since late yesterday, causing sleepless nights for residents like Erica McKillop.
“I’m worried because the creek runs on a diagonal, so it’s going to flood the street and it’s going to flood the golf course, so on our particular side of the street it’s going to flood our front and back yard,” McKillop said. “I got all my papers, I got the kids photos and the suitcase but other than that, we’re out here working.”
McKillop and other residents spent the day sandbagging the spot where the creek runs under the top of Scotty Creek Road.
“We’re just clearing out debris, putting out some sandbags, hoping to build a wall to prevent the water from coming down the street,” McKillop said.
Most of the street is under the evacuation alert, which is tied to weather forecasts calling for more rain. Though some in the community are skeptical a flood will happen, the prevailing attitude is that it’s better to be safe than sorry.
“When they tell you something might happen, you better take the warning and be prepared for it,” said Cailla Patterson, another local resident. “We have a bunch of neighbours who are a little bit older so we’re gonna make sure that they have sandbags protecting their property.”
Patterson’s nearby neighbour Judy Shoemaker said the threat of flooding has brought people together.
“People are down at the Ellison Fire Hall filling bags, and we’re hauling sand out from our farm and everyone’s going to chip in,” Shoemaker said. “I know we’ll be okay.”
Three truck loads of sand were delivered to the Ellison Fire Hall throughout the day, and volunteers with pickups bagged sand for delivery back up the road. Joy Batten, whose home is near the creek, was one of them, but her concern was for her neighbours.
The evacuation alert means residents could be told to go at a moment’s notice. The Emergency Operations Centre in Kelowna says that means being prepared.
“A key thing we’re focusing on is getting an emergency kit together, so a 72-hour prep kit that you can grab and take with you in case you are now under an evacuation order,” said Kirsten Jones, who works at the centre. “It should include emergency supplies that you’d need including medicine, water and food for three days.”
Central Okanagan Emergency Operations will modify the alert if necessary as weather conditions change.