Ice Jam on the Bulkley River

Tuesday, January 04, 2011 01:59 PM

Smithers, B.C. - Residents of a rural area near Smithers have had a nervous New Year so far.

The Regional District of Bulkley Nechako says an ice jam on the Bulkley River was spotted near the Ebenezer Flats area January 1^st. There have been no threats to area homes, but officials with the regional district are warning families close to the area that flash flooding may occur without warning depending on what happens with the ice jam.

RDBN Chair Lance Hamblin says the area director is keeping a close watch on the situation, but there’s little else that can be done right now.

“It’s driven by weather and nobody controls that. We have to live within what we can do and respond to the situation and that’s what we’re doing.”

Hamblin says there is very little risk to residents right now, but if the situation changes the district will let residents know what is happening.

The Ebenezer Flats area is no stranger to ice jams and flood events. An ice jam on the Bulkley caused flooding in the spring of 2009 and high water forced some families out in June, 2007 as well.

Situation updates on the current ice jam are available at the RDBN website or by calling 1-800-320-3339.

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Posted on Tuesday, January 04, 2011 01:59 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: Dragonmaster on January 4 2011 2:07 PM

The city of Smithers would be well advised to communicate with the city of PG when it comes to ice jam intelligence. ;-)

Posted by: giterdun on January 4 2011 2:12 PM

Yup! Our city has experts on how NOT to handle an ice jam. Note to Smithers... Ask P.G. then do the opposite.

Posted by: giterdun on January 4 2011 2:23 PM

Memo to all NO DREDGING PROPONENTS... Go up airport hill just past the jail. Turn around and look at the confluence of the two rivers. Anybody that dosen't think that we should dredge is an IDIOT. The city should be out on the river right now with a backhoe digging a channel through the ice on the sand bar. Then when the water comes up it will have a channel to flow through. Or maybee we should just study the situation again,then spend another few million raising river road some more. Don't pull the plug in the bathtub,just keep raising the sides. Real good logic. NOT!

Posted by: He spoke on January 4 2011 4:53 PM

I agree with you giterdun. People worry about the fishys. YOU know they have this thing called "Fins" on them, and they swim around or thru it. Were not talking dredging the entire length of the river, were talking probably 1/4 mile. That's it, just so the water flows fast.

Posted by: Dragonmaster on January 4 2011 7:41 PM

[IMG]http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a359/sledhed/IMG_0851.jpg[/IMG]

Posted by: gus on January 4 2011 7:42 PM

I think we should just build a channel like the Los Angeles river and screen any gravel and fines entering the upriver end.

http://you-are-here.com/location/la_river5.jpg

;-)

Posted by: Dragonmaster on January 4 2011 7:42 PM

Try this one

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a359/sledhed/IMG_0851.jpg

Posted by: Dragonmaster on January 4 2011 7:46 PM

Or you can just check it out on Google earth.

Posted by: giterdun on January 4 2011 9:05 PM

Dragonmaster...Good photo...tells the whole story. "Dredging the channel won't help solve the ice jam problem" This statement sums up the advice given by the river flow experts. These expert consultants get paid big money to spout this garbage. Will common sense ever prevail?

Posted by: Junco on January 4 2011 10:15 PM

Good photo Dragonmaster, the answer is obvious, but it is obviously not going to be addressed. Why? I am one of many who are truly baffled.

Posted by: supertech on January 4 2011 10:23 PM

They did raise ther flood plain by 1.8 metres after their silly study. Thatmade a lot of folks pissed because it caused their property to be classed as 'flood plain' lowering their homes value. Great work PG!!
I was at that meeting and I wondered how they could possibly face us with all that garbage. Some woman who sits behind a computer all day telling us dredging doesn't work because it flooded two years after we dredged back in 52 or something. Duh??