It will take roughly a week before a campground north of Cochrane is operational again after a creek that runs through the grounds overflowed Wednesday morning, according to the site manager.
Tim Needham, who manages the Bottrel Campground, said rain poured in the area Tuesday night. Campers said they were forced to evacuate the grounds in the overnight hours of Wednesday morning as water rushed in.
“The creek was just going up and up and up,” Tracie Skeetbrook, one of the campers, said Wednesday afternoon, as she returned to see if she could salvage a tent that was still submerged in water.
“I just kept checking it. As soon as I saw it come over, I said ‘that’s it.'”
Everyone staying on the grounds was able to make it out safely, according to Needham. He said that some personal items were swept away, as well as a picnic table from the grounds.
“I was watching things float by me left, right and centre — that, there’s nothing you can do about,” Needham said.
“Every time it floods it brings in gravel and soot and clay and stuff off the ground and makes a mess of it.”
WATCH: (July 9, 2019) Flood warning issued for the Chilcotin River
Needham said this marks the 14th time the campground has flooded since 2004. He plans to refund those who were staying at the site and must now wait until he’s cleaned up the area before new reservations can be taken.
“It’s like a flash flood. It comes very fast and then it goes very fast,” Needham said.
“Within a couple days this will be all sort of back to normal.”
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