Prince George, B.C. - The City of Prince George issued an evacuation order covering six (6) more properties Sunday evening in the area north of Pulp Mill Road as the Nechako River ice jam situation remained volatile throughout the day.

The order was issued as it became clear during the course of the day that seepage of ground water was causing flooding in the houses, or creating access problems to and from the houses. Delivery of large industrial-scale pumps from the Ministry of Forests is expected Monday morning to try to alleviate the percolation problems noted in that area.

The ice jam, which created flooding conditions early last week for residents and businesses in low-lying areas near the Nechako River, shrank from six (6) kilometres long to two (2) kilometers long Saturday night and Sunday morning. A channel of clear water opened on the north side of the Nechako River, but as the day developed that channel closed up, forcing water to continue to rise in the River Road area, especially near the Winton Global and Lakeland Mills sites.

Construction of gabion diking continued along River Road and will resume Monday morning. As well, a dirt berm being constructed along the north shore of the Nechako River at the McAloney Road-Ongman Road light industrial area helped prevent any further influx of water into that area and allowed pumps to begin drying the area.

Water levels fell between one and two metres in areas previously impacted by high water, notably the Delhaven – Pozer Road – Preston Road area, where residents were delivered evacuation orders Friday. If those more normal water levels persist City officials said they would consider lifting evacuation orders and returning to evacuation alert status.

The City’s emergency team heard a report from two experts in river ice issues, David Andres of Edmonton and Paul Doyle of Oliver. The presenters said that the ice jam is weather dependent and that the recent unseasonably warm weather has helped reduce the size of the jam. The long term forecast for the next two weeks is for similar temperatures.