They were up all night on Tuesday and they’re at it again Wednesday — Canadian soldiers sandbagging at Twin Lakes — trying to save nine lakefront homes from disaster including Craig Hunter’s place.
Hunter has nothing but praise for the help.
“I’m just amazed as to what the system has provided to my small community of nine homes. I feel very blessed. On one hand, the flood is a disaster but the level of help that has arrived has just been astronomical. I can’t believe it,” Hunter said.
Corporal Lance Matsos is one of 60 soldiers from Edmonton helping out. He said Canadians come first.
“A lot of people think that we only go overseas but anytime that things go down in Canada, it’s always nice to be able to help Canadians because they are who we represent,” Matsos said.
In an attempt to lower the lake level, the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen has brought in some heavy artillery — giant pumps capable of moving thousands of gallons a minute. The only catch is, that water is being pumped to Sportsmen’s Bowl near Oliver — an area that has been battling flood waters for weeks. Officials say they’re confident the additional water shouldn’t cause a flood repeat for the residents downstream.
But for lakeside resident Pat Kilgor, the battle is over. She’s been pumping water out of the basement for several sleepless days and nights but has finally given up.
“What we were pumping out was coming right back in, so finally after a week and a half — got to sleep ‘cause we were exhausted,” she said.