Scenes From Vanderhoof

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 07:42 PM

A riverfront home on Reid Drive (photo courtesy of Vanderhoof Opinion250 reader)

The home pictured above is one of dozens in a subdivision on the north side of the Nechako River in Vanderhoof where access is being hampered by the rising river.

Earlier today, Mayor Len Fox said all efforts were being made to keep the approximately 100 residents in their home, despite 30-centimetres of water on a section of the road into the neighbourhood, Reid Drive.

This evening, Environment Canada’s water level gauge in the Nechako River at Vanderhoof is reading a level of 5.245 metres. And Fox says the flow is expected to hit 775 cubic metres/second (cms) on Sunday, so emergency officials have been preparing for the worst and dyking for an 800 cms flow.

Below is a picture of Riverside Park, also submitted...

The Mayor expects most of the park to be under water by Sunday. He says ground water is causing problems for many in the community, with crawl spaces and basements flooding. But Fox says, so far, sump pumps have been able to keep up.

According to the latest information received at this morning’s meeting, Fox says the Nautley River, which feeds into the Nechako, is still rising. And Mother Nature does not appear willing to cooperate in the coming days - with rain in the forecast for Friday and a 60-percent chance of showers on Saturday.

Local emergency officials are scheduled to meet again to update the situation on Friday morning.

The home below borders Riverside Park (photo: submitted)