Flood warning, evacuation orders in Cache Creek as spring water levels rise

The Village of Cache Creek in the B.C. Interior has ordered the evacuation of multiple properties as the community faces rising floodwaters.

On Monday night, the village ordered the evacuation of all properties from the Brookside Campground to Quartz Road, as well as the Cache Creek Motor Inn.

The village has set up a reception centre at the community hall for evacuees.

The community declared a local state of emergency last weekend because of rising water levels.

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The B.C. River Forecast Centre has placed the area under a flood warning, as cold spring weather has pushed daytime temperatures up to 24 C.

That has sped up snowmelt and rising river and creek levels throughout the Interior Plateau from Cache Creek to the Chilcotin, the agency said.

Flood warnings are also in effect for the Cariboo and Chilcotin regions including tributary rivers and streams around Williams Lake, Quesnel, Alexis Creek, Anahim Lake and the Nazko River.

Earlier this month, the forecast centre warned that tributaries all along the Fraser River watershed were at an elevated flood risk, based on higher-than-average snowpacks.

The last time Cache Creek saw significant flooding was in 2018.