By Wednesday morning, the floodwater from Whiteman’s Creek had receded from the Parker Cove subdivision, leaving serious destruction in its wake.
However, the waterway, on Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB) land, near Vernon, B.C. was still running very high, and an expanded evacuation order for adjacent homes remained in place.
More snowpack left to melt, log jams in the creek, and rain in the forecast mean the area isn’t out of danger yet.
On Tuesday, Falcon Avenue in the Parker Cove subdivision was turned into a river when the surging creek spilled its banks, ran through yards and poured around homes into the street.
Once the water was largely gone, on Wednesday, the dramatic impact of the flood was clear.
The water caused a serious washout, turning the end of Flacon Avenue nearest Okanagan Lake into a pit of torn asphalt, rocks, and exposed pipes. A vehicle could even be seen partially buried in the rubble.
Parker Cove resident Debbie Reid said she saw the vehicle fall into the washout.
“The damage is devastating. I mean people have lost their homes,” said Reid.
“We are a resilient group of people and we will come through it again. It is hard to see but also we will get through it.”
Residents’ homes have also been damaged, although the full scale of the destruction is not known as officials have yet to assess the damages.
Don Buchan said the flood brought about 15 inches of water to his basement, totaling the suite he had there for his mother-in-law.
The area is not out of danger yet.
OKIB Chief Byron Louis said there is still about three feet of snow left to melt and there is rain in the forecast for Friday and Saturday.
Louis said wildfire damage in the watershed two years ago during the White Rock Lake wildfire is also making the situation much worse.
He said that one wildfire-related issue is that the blaze removed forest cover that normally would provide shade and help slow the melt, and another is that the lack of vegetation is making it easier for logs, soil and other debris to come down with the runoff.
“In some areas, it’s so heavily damaged that there is nothing, no vegetation or anything, to hold that back,” Louis said.
While homes in Parker Cove were saved from the flames, it seems the blaze’s destructive impact is not over as it contributes to the current flooding.
Louis said the band has brought in an expert to advise it on mitigation strategies which could include rip rap or changing the placement of Tiger Dams.
“We don’t want this to be an annual event,” he said.
Louis said no injuries have been reported as a result of the flooding.