Residents and firefighters came together overnight to try and stop the flood waters from breaching the fire hall.
However, despite the hard work of the volunteers, Cache Creek flooded the hall and residents are asked to stay away from the area.
“There is a river running through it,” said the information officer of the Cache Creek emergency centre Mary Coomber.
Firefighters were able to move the trucks out of the fire hall, however, gear and equipment remain inside. The hope is to move the gear to the community centre.
One of the homes along Cache Creek has been lost due to the flood waters. A property assessment has yet to be done, but according to Coomber, the photos show a devastating state.
Neighbours are working together to salvage private residences as the village works to protect critical infrastructure, such as water mains and hydro, from the flood.
There are currently 11 properties on alert and 14 on evacuation order.
“The BC River Forecast Centre told us this morning that there are still a couple more days of water rising the creek and that it could get higher if there is significant rain. And, we are expecting rain,” said Coomber.
This means more properties could face an evacuation order over the next few days with the current forecast predicting a 60 per cent chance of showers or thunderstorms over Friday and Saturday.
“We were told by the province this is a rain-on-snow event. So we are below Arrowston Hills, which means the runoff is coming like a tsunami down into Cache Creek. We hope it plays out soon but the Bonaparte River is picking up steam,” explained Coomber.
The Cache Creek post office is also closed due to a downed electricity pole. The lobby is closed to the public, so mail is unable to be collected.
The flooding has closed Highway 1 and Highway 97 through Cache Creek detours are in place, check DriveBC for updates.
Before and after rip-rap installation on the banks of #CacheCreek along Back Valley Road. Flooding has closed #BCHwy97 & #BCHwy1 through #CacheCreekBC. Detours are in place. Please check @DriveBC for updates. https://t.co/8QRA3Ov4nghttps://t.co/Br5Z6tSUt2@TranBC_TN pic.twitter.com/f5J14Ovlhk
— BC Transportation (@TranBC) May 3, 2023
The Todd Road Bridge is closed, due to high water levels. Quartz Road remains closed at Highway 1, heavy equipment is working in the area at various points along the creek and residents are asked to stay 20 feet back from both the banks of the creek and the river.
Sand and bags were available to those in need at the old recycling area near the post office, in the library parking on Trans Canada Highway and Winchester Road. By the end of Tuesday, at least one person was reporting that there were no sandbags left, but thankfully the City of Kamloops turned up with more.
Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management, said Wednesday (May 3) government has been pre-deploying hundreds of thousands of sandbags across B.C.
“We are working very closely with communities on their response plans, including communities like Cache Creek and Grand Forks,” she added.
Ma said flooding this spring is not entirely unexpected, adding this is why government has started preparations earlier than in past years.
“With climate change upon us and the climate crisis upon us, we are going to be seeing more extreme weather events and more natural hazards hit British Columbians right through the year,” she said.
@Jen_zee
jen.zielinski@bpdigital.ca
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