Fraser Rising at 2cm Per Hour
Tuesday, June 19, 2012 @ 11:00 AM
Prince George, B.C.- The Fraser River at Paddlewheel Park has started seeping on to Farrell Street.
The B.C. River Forecast Centre is predicting the Fraser at South Fort will peak later today between 9.95 and 10.2 meters. As of 8:15 this morning, the gauge at that site was reading 9.871 meters and the river is rising at a rate of about 2 cm per hour..
It is expected this will be the first time in 4 decades that the Fraser River at South Fort will tip over the 9.9 meter mark, however, the peak will still be below the mark set in 1972 of 10.441.
The Nechako River is also high, with Cottonwood Island Park under water ( photo top right)
and the boat launch is so wet a person could launch their boat from the parking lot. (photo bottom right)
As for the Regional District of Fraser Fort George,
- Evacuation Alerts remain in effect for Foreman Flats and 10 homes in Shelley townsite along the Fraser River
- Water at Foreman Flats is at 2007 levels
- Regional District staff are working with homeowners to assess individual situations and need for support
- The Ministry of Transportation will be contacted to assess concerns related to accessibility of bridge in Foreman Flats. This morning, water was measured to be .8 metres under the bridge at Foreman Flats
River levels are expected to be at flood stage downstream of Prince George through to the Fraser Canyon, starting tomorrow and extending through to Thursday and Friday.
Comments
someone should put that house on stilts!!
I’m just trying to understand this. These are the highest water levels in 40yrs. And the water isn’t even up to River Road yet. What would this dike be doing if it had been built already?
The dike project was a knee jerk reaction caused by the ice jam flooding a few years back. The ice jam was due to the ice flowing down stream in the Nechako, running aground in the shallow water and creating a dam that caused the river to overflow her banks. Something which could have been prevented with dredging the Nechako river bottom from Cottonwood Island Park down into the Fraser river.
This is a different type of flooding.
coastb
River Road is on the Nechako, this is highwater for the Fraser, the Nechako does raise because of this, but the main flow from the Fraser heads south, not west.
People just do not get it…. I have driven by Cottonwood Park about a dozen times last week during various times of the day since the signs are still up. I saw people walking over the bridge and around the park. Even saw a family with small kids playing at the shore of the boat launch area. What gives?
The water at the edge of the boat launch which is now at River road, not at the parling lot (that is flooded) is just quiet, rising water, not in the river channel.
The Nechako and Fraser are relatively fast moving rivers at any time of the year. There is always the interface of a shallow river’s edge and the deeper area of the main channel in some locations such as the shallows beteeen the islands.
The dangerous areas are those locations where the river flows fast at a steep bank, such as at Fort George Park and all along that western side of the river.
It will be interesting to see whether any of the banks on the Fraser may be undercut by the current and collapse into the water, especially on the east side where the CN line is located. I do not know how well they have protected that edge. Does not look good from the west bank.
No dispute about it not being “waterfront property” now.
I watched the news the other night and it showed someone down around Farrel street I believe that had water on their floor and a pile of their belongings were soaked. Kids toys, clothes, furniture and the like.
My question to that person is this….
Why did you wait until your floor was covered in water and your belongings were water damaged to try and save them?
How much warning do you need to realise you should move your belongings out of harms way?
Are you on welfare and will have your belongings replaced at taxpayers expense?
Just wondering!
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