Mother Nature seems to be cooperating when it comes to the ice jam on the Quesnel River.
Ron Richert, the Director of Emergency Services with the city, says the mild weather is definitely helping.
“We’re now into our second week of this, the river is definitely doing better than expected. We’ve got a little wider of an open water area that is flowing. We still have quite a bit of ice buildup from the Quesnel River Bridge up, but I notice today that the ice is getting quite a bit thinner through the middle.”
Richert says the ideal situation now would be a slow melt.
“Definitely. Sometimes with warmer weather it can cause a more adverse effect than we want. We want the middle area to start opening up and then it leaves some room for the ice to float down and start to break off slowly.”
Richert says the situation is much better now than it was a couple of weeks ago.
“Oh 100 percent. For sure. We’re constantly accessing and monitoring it like I said daily, but definitely this warm weather has definitely benefited us for sure.”
The ice jam has led to the closure of the Johnston loop, which normally happens during the spring freshet.
A portion of the Riverfront Trail is also closed due to public safety concerns.
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