The City of Prince George is notifying residents of Farrell Street near Paddlewheel Park of the possibility of flooding due to rising water levels in the Fraser River. No evacuation alerts or orders have been declared for Prince George.
According to the Province of BC’s River Forecast Centre, water levels on the Fraser River are at about 8.4 metres (as of noon today) and are steadily approaching 9.0 metres with the river forecast to rise over 9.5 metres by the weekend. Home basements on Farrell Street may start to experience flooding when the rivers begin to exceed about 9.0 metres.
Today, the city activated its Emergency Operations Centre and staff delivered letters to Farrell Street residents advising them to be prepared to evacuate should evacuation be required. Sand and sandbags are available to residents of Farrell Street and are positioned at the North end of Farrell Street.
All residents of Farrell Street are strongly advised to have an emergency kit readily available to enable them to leave their properties quickly in the event of an evacuation order. Please visit the Province’s PreparedBC website for information about how to prepare one of these kits. For up-to-date information about river forecasts, please visit the BC River Forecast Centre website.
Park and trail closures
Last month, the city announced the closure of sections of the Heritage River Trail and Cottonwood Island Park due to rising water from the Nechako and Fraser Rivers. The Heritage River Trail is closed from the trailhead east of the riverboat launch to Taylor Drive north of Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park. All three bridges in Cottonwood Island Park are closed, as is the road into the canoe launch. Nechako Riverside Park, McMillan Creek Fishing Park, Paddlewheel Park, and Hazelton Park remain open at this time.
Staff are continuing to monitor the river levels. The City encourages residents to use caution whenever walking near the rivers, particularly during periods of increased water levels.
For further information about the City of Prince George Emergency Response Operations, please visit www.princegeorge.ca/emergency.