As Quesnel residents surely noticed the water levels in Baker Creek and the Fraser River rose quite a bit over the weekend but was it enough to be concerned ?
Emergency Services Coordinator Sylvain Gauthier says not at this point.
He says unless we get back into temperatures into the mid to high 20’s Baker Creek should now stay at the levels it’s at, but he says they will be monitoring it…
“As every year there is going to be some debris coming down so we’re paying a little bit more attention to Anderson bridge right by the Toyota dealership. And as soon as we see some trees that are hung up at the bridge then we take precautionary measures and remove those trees right away, so we don’t end up getting back flow and then end up flooding residences upstream.”
Gauthier says there is still a long ways to go before there should be any concern about the Fraser…
“The Fraser right now, i think we have at least another meter to go before we start worrying. Three feet is quite a bit. Normally on the Fraser, over the last 7 to 8 years, the average is about 3 to 4 inches every 12 hours and we’re not even into the high, once we go back into the mid to high 20’s, then we can start maybe worrying depending on where we’re at and how much snow has melted.”
Gauthier says there is some local flooding right now but only in areas where it floods every year…
“Johnston loop and around Baker Creek, there is a low point if we follow Lewis Drive where the walking trail goes by, then water gets close to that. So same thing as we say every year to the public, if they are going to walk along the river to stay a minimum three feet away from the edge and if they say anything abnormal to give us a call.”
He says the Johnston Loop will likely be shut down today.
Gautheir says Baker Creek, higher than it has been for the last four or five years at this point, won’t peak until mid to late May while the Fraser doesn’t normally get into full swing until the end of May or beginning of June.
Something going on in the Cariboo you think people should know about?
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