A Real Jam: Preparing For The Break

By 250 News

Extra pumps, discharge hose, and sandbags are at the ready       (City of PG photo)

Prince George, B.C. -  With the mercury hovering around minus-17 overnight, it’s expected more ice will have piled up at the head of the icejam on the Nechako River.

In the 24-hour period between Tuesday and yesterday, the jam grew an additional two-kilometres, to a total of nine-kilometres.

City liaison, Kevin Brown, says, "The EOC (city’s Emergency Operation Centre) is very conscious of what’s going to happen when the air temperatures warm up and, of course, that ice will start to break away."

But Brown says the City is confident the preventative measures that have been put in place since the January 5th surge that surpassed the 200-year flood level will pay off.

"The earth berms that have been built, the temporary raising of the roadway on River Road -- all of that work the past three weeks or so has been aimed at better preparing us to deal with the next major ice shift and water surge."

It doesn’t appear those measures will be tested in the near future, with the forecast calling for the current cold temperatures to stick with us until at least Sunday.

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