The River Forecast Centre has issued a flood watch for the Fraser River from Prince George to Quesnel.
The flood watch comes as the City of Prince George has issued evacuation alerts for 18 homes on Farrell Street.
Other flood warnings and watches throughout the North include:
- Flood Warning – Bulkley River including tributaries around Houston, Smithers and adjacent areas
- Flood Watch – Nautley River and Nechako River including tributaries and lake levels around Burns Lake, Francois Lake, Vanderhoof and surrounding areas
- Flood Watch – Dean River
- High Streamflow Advisory – Nazko and West Road River (Downgraded)
- High Streamflow Advisory – Prince George area including the Chilako River, Salmon River and surrounding tributaries
Continued hot weather has been leading to rapid snow melt from mid-to-upper elevation snow packs. Temperatures are expected to remain high through the week and into the weekend, and ongoing increases in river levels are expected in basins with sufficient snow remaining.
A summary of key rivers includes:
- Fraser River at South Fort George (08KE018) is at 8.8m, and is expected to rise through the week. Current forecasts are for levels to reach the 9.2-9.4 range over the Thursday-Friday period
- Bulkley River near Houston (08EE003) is flowing at 227 m3/s (10-year flow) and is receding. Snowpack in the basin is depleted and risks of additional snowmelt related rises in level is being reduced
- Bulkley River near Smithers (08EE005) is flowing at 1163 m3/s (20-year flow) and is rising. Flows may reach up to the 1200-1300 m3/s range through this week and may exceed previous peak levels from last week
- Nautley River near Fort Fraser (08JB003) is flowing at 258 m3/s (between a 20-year and 50-year flow). The rate of rise has eased the last two days and is expected to remain elevated
- Nechako River near Vanderhoof (08JC001) is currently flowing at 495 m3/s (5-year flow), and has eased the past few days. Flows are expected to remain at a similar level
Most areas will see snow diminishing over the coming week. With peak snowmelt runoff expected over the coming week, rivers will be vulnerable to rainfall events, particularly early next week.
