Fraser Peaks Below Flood Level

By Michelle Cyr-Whiting

This riverside bench now sits in the Fraser as the water level peaked this morning

The homes on Farrell Street have, so far, escaped the wrath of the Fraser River...

The muddy waters of the mighty river have crept over the banks and onto the lawn of Paddlewheel Park, as the river peaked at somewhere between 8.8 and 8.9-metres just before noon today.

The Ministry of Environment’s River Forecast Centre says the level is expected to drop slightly over the next few hours and still more overnight, but the flood risk isn’t over.

The photo on the left shows the same stand of trees in the park last night, and on the right, today...

"We’re in a very tenuous period right now, this is not the peak of the year for the Fraser in Prince George,"  says the Centre’s Allan Chapman, "We’re just at the very start of spring, most of the snow in the mountains has not melted, so you can expect the Fraser will get higher a little bit later in the spring."

Chapman says with temperatures expected to warm over the weekend and hit between 18 and 21-degrees at the start of the week, there will be some snowmelt generated.  "So we’re leaving the Fraser on a high stream flow advisory and it’s going to be at that all next week until we see what happens and how warm the weather gets and what that does to the snow melt."

Meaning the coast is not yet clear for residents living on Farrell Street.

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