Flooding has receded in the town of Peace River, after it declared a local state of emergency Saturday evening due to a massive flood in the downtown area.
In a statement posted on its website, the town said the declaration was signed by Mayor Tom Tarpey at 9:44 p.m. Saturday.
“The blockage alleviated itself at about 12:30 last night, and we were able to get most of the water out,” said Tarpey. “You wouldn’t think that we had a flood this morning.”
The statement said Pat’s Creek Culvert started to overflow near Centennial parking lot around 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
Officials wrote they suspected an ice jam in the culvert was causing the culvert to overflow leading to flooding near 100 Avenue and 100 Street.
Contractors were called in to bring in dams to channel the water through the street towards Riverfront Park.
Crews then pumped the water out of the park and into the river.
“Water was flowing through the streets, but now it’s relatively dry,” Tarpey said. “There is debris.”
Although the waters have now receded, Tarpey said the state of emergency will likely remain in the town through Monday.
He added an AHS mental health building in the town flooded “quite badly,” and that there is damage to the community theatre and a downtown hotel.
Residents are asked to avoid the area.
Peace River is approximately 489 kilometres north west of Edmonton.
–With files from Global News’ Allison Bench