Water levels rose several inches in Bracebridge on Saturday morning, and Bracebridge mayor Graydon Smith said that residents in the Beaumont Farm Road and Alport Bay Road area may want to evacuate their homes voluntarily.
Earlier this week, Bracebridge and Huntsville both declared state of emergencies due to flooding.
The rain in the area was replaced by snow overnight on Friday, Smith said at a press conference Saturday morning.
“That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It can act as a bit of a sponge for some of the water that’s on the ground, and with the colder temperatures, slow some of the flow into the lakes and rivers and streams,” Smith said.
According to Smith, the number of people affected is likely higher than the 1,092 permanent residents and 1,020 seasonal properties that were impacted during the 2013 floods.
On Friday, Huntsville mayor Scott Aitchison told Global News that the rising water levels are expected to continue for about another four or five days.
WATCH: Drone footage shows rising water levels as Huntsville deals with ‘most devastating flooding since 2013’
“The lower-lying areas south of the Locks is certainly seeing increases and it continues to flood those low-lying areas,” Aitchison said.
At a press conference on Saturday, Smith said the water levels in Huntsville aren’t worse. “They think they might be at a point where the water levels will trend down from here on out. That’s great news for us because we’re the receptor of their water,” he added.
According to Smith, there has been no injuries so far due to the flooding.
“The main concern is that the water is going up and nobody is able to say with any certainty how high it will go up and when it will stop going up,” Smith said.
Bracebridge road closures:
- Sherwood Forest Road, from Fraserburg Road / Muskoka Road 14 to the end
- Ann Street, from Aubrey Street to Wilson’s Falls Road
- Colony Road, from 1115 Colony Rd. to the end
- Kelvin Grove Park, from the rowing club parking lot to the lower parking lot
- Stephenson Road 1, from River Valley Drive to Balsam Chutes Road
- Purbrook Road, from 1805 Purbrook Rd. to the end
- Fraserburg Road / Muskoka Road 14, from Colony Road to Cridiford Road
- Power Point Road, from High Falls Road / Muskoka Road 50 to the end
- Santa’s Village Road / Muskoka Road 15, from 363 Santa’s Village Rd. / Muskoka Road 15 to Leslie Drive
- Cridiford Road, from 1049 Cridiford Rd. to the end
- Crockford Road, from Muskoka Beach Road / Muskoka Road 17 to the end
- Holiday Park Drive Private, from Highway 11 and Holiday Park Drive Private to 160 metres east
- River Road, from Taylor Road / Muskoka Road 42 to Wilson’s Falls Road and Ann Street
- Wilson’s Falls Road, from River Road and Ann Street to the end
WATCH: State of Emergency continues for Bracebridge due heavy flooding
Huntsville road closures:
- Szalowski Drive at Highway 60
- Hutcheson Beach Road at #51
- Ontario Road at #63
- Bayshore Boulevard at #700 to West Airport
- Cann Street at John St to Freshco
- Ceramic Mine Road North at bridge
- Glen Acres Road at Glen Acres Road
- John Street at Manominee Street to Main Street
- North Lancelot Road at the gravel portion
- Old North Road at Silver Sands Road to Fowlers Road
- River Mill at the parking by Algonquin Outfitters
- Silver Sands Road before Silver Sands Park
- Skyhills Road at #536
- South Drive at South Drive
- Jarvies Road at #132
WATCH: Residents of Ontario town continue to deal with flooding, find ways to protect homes
“People should not be driving on (closed roads),” Smith said. “We cannot determine or guarantee the integrity or safety of that road.”
According to Smith, some people’s homes are being flooded. “In pockets of town, that’s definitely occurring to a great extent. There’s definitely personal property damage occurring,” Smith said.
Bracebridge has recommended evacuations for 1094 to 1160 Springdale Shores, Holiday Park Drive and 10 to 118 Cedar Shores.
Huntsville’s Registration and Inquiry Centre is now open 24 hours a day at 20 Park Dr. The phone number is 705-789-6421, ext. 0.
“We have a 2-1-1 system set up and these residents that are in affected areas, we’d love them to check in with us and let us know that they’re doing OK,” Smith said.
In Bracebridge, free sandbags for properties affected by flooding are available at 1206 Rosewarne Drive. Sand materials and bags are also available at the George Road boat launch overflow parking lot, the end of Maplewood Road and on Herbert Court.
In Huntsville, free sand and bags are available at 387 South Mary Lake Rd. and at 7 Burrow Pit Ln. Bags are available at 9 Ott Dr. and 40 Cairns Cres., and people can get free sand at 815 Muskoka Rd. 3 N. Bags and sand are available at 1265 Aspdin Rd.
Individuals who are out of town and have seasonal homes in Bracebridge are asked to wait until it’s safe to check on their properties, Smith said.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry in the Parry Sound District is advising residents of the District Municipality of Muskoka, the Territorial District of Parry Sound and the northwest portion of the County of Haliburton that a flood warning is in effect until Friday, May 3.