VANCOUVER — Heavy rains in several northeastern British Columbia communities have washed out roads, prompted flood watches, forced some evacuations and led to one declaration of local emergency.
Mayor Merlin Nichols of Chetwynd issued the declaration Wednesday after about 100 mm of rain drenched the town of about 3,000 people, 100 kilometres west of Dawson Creek.
Nichols says the community's industrial area just north of town is hardest hit, with the railway washed out and damage to buildings caused by the flooding of Winter Creek.
Dawson Creek Mayor Dale Bumstead says his city has been cut in half by the waterway that divides the town, with residents from several properties forced to higher ground as a number of bridges and culverts have been damaged or destroyed.
DriveBC reports washouts or closures on Highways 97, 52 and 29, affecting Chetwynd and Dawson Creek, and the River Forecast Centre notes flood watches are posted there and for waterways near Pine Pass, Tumbler Ridge, Fort St. John and Fort Nelson.
Environment Canada says rainfall warnings are up for the northeastern corner of the province, with another 20 mm expected before sunshine returns.
"We are in a very serious situation this morning in our city," says Bumstead in a Facebook message posted early Thursday as at least one Dawson Creek bridge was washed away by raging waters.
"The north side of town and south side are now separated," he says, although he posted a further message on social media advising an ambulance route could serve both sides of the city via a rural road ringing Dawson Creek.
Downpours had faded to showers west of Dawson Creek by early Thursday, prompting optimism from Nichols.
"Unless the weather takes another turn for the worse, we should be able to start our recovery," he says of the situation in Chetwynd.
"There's a couple of (bridges) that are in danger, but so far we haven't lost anything. Our focus right now, since the rain has diminished, is mainly on cleanup and restoring."
