A local state of emergency is being declared for the community of Willowbrook in the South Okanagan.
Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen chair Karla Kozakevich, made the declaration Tuesday morning for the properties in the vicinity of Kearns Creek.
As predicted Kearns Creek did rise six inches overnight.
The community of Willowbrook jumped into action on Monday helping the volunteer fire department fill and deploy sandbags.
About 50 volunteers loaded sandbags upon sandbags in preparation for what was expected to be a significant increase in the water level in the coming hours.
Efforts were spread out across the community in the evening, and even as daylight gave way to darkness, a couple dozen community members and volunteer firefighters were spotted loading sandbags at the community91裸聊视频檚 small firehall on Willowbrook Road.
Some flooding at a property. I should clarify: fire chief later said dam not breached, but a controlled spill to avoid a breach. Chief Pat Lantz says will add 6-12 inches of water.
91裸聊视频� Dustin Godfrey 馃摪 (@dustinrgodfrey)
"The worst is yet to come."
91裸聊视频淔abulously,91裸聊视频� Fire Chief Pat Lantz said of the community effort Monday night. 91裸聊视频淓verybody91裸聊视频檚 all hands on deck at this point in time. The rain has subsided. The water level is still rising at this point in time, so we91裸聊视频檙e just bagging like banshees and carrying on.91裸聊视频�
Lantz expected to be pulling an all-nighter, alongside some sturdy volunteers, noting the water was still going up.
And the community did come together in a strong way Monday evening, with some bringing things like water and hot coffee to volunteers as the darkness set in.
91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 what a small community does, right? You just keep going until you can91裸聊视频檛 go, and you give your best effort,91裸聊视频� Jim Stanley said, adding he and his wife tried to add to the pool of treats for the community.
91裸聊视频淚 told my wife to go home and order a bunch of pizzas, and the pizza guys said 91裸聊视频榶ou91裸聊视频檙e too far, we won91裸聊视频檛 deliver to you.91裸聊视频� So you imagine: here we are in a crisis, and they won91裸聊视频檛 even come to the table. 91裸聊视频� It91裸聊视频檚 unbelievable. Here a bunch of people are pulling an all-nighter to try and save their homes and you can91裸聊视频檛 deliver a bunch of pizzas.
91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 20 pizzas or something coming,91裸聊视频� he added, noting that would be a lot of business for the pizza shop.
One person tried ordering a couple dozen pizzas from a shop in Oliver, explaining the flooding, but they were told it was too far away to deliver. (Google has it clocked at 14 minutes away.)
91裸聊视频� Dustin Godfrey 馃摪 (@dustinrgodfrey)
He wasn91裸聊视频檛 sure which pizza shop it was that declined to deliver, but said it was in Oliver, which, according to Google Maps, is about 14 minutes away.
The community was initially in reaction mode from flooding that came from overflowing ponds uphill from the community. But as the evening wore on, a new issue arose, with a renewed urgency 91裸聊视频� the fire hall put out a notice on Facebook saying a dam uphill had been breached.
But Lantz later clarified the dam was at capacity and there had been a controlled spill to avoid a breach of the dam, which would flow through the valley in the area of the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory and into the Willowbrook area.
91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 about 20 homes that are affected by it, but the worst is, I think, yet to come,91裸聊视频� he said Monday evening.
91裸聊视频淪o over the next 12 hours, the controlled spill you91裸聊视频檒l start to see it come through here, and that91裸聊视频檚 where we91裸聊视频檙e double bagging and getting it up higher.91裸聊视频�
While there were 20 homes immediately affected, one resident pointed out that if things got worse, his home adjacent to that line of water could also be affected.
91裸聊视频淚 have water issues if the saturation gets to the point where the bowl is full, because it comes in from underground, through my basement,91裸聊视频� said Jim Stanley.
This is where it's all coming into the line of several houses. A culvert is way overloaded. Spillage over the road is has more water flowing than the culvert.
91裸聊视频� Dustin Godfrey 馃摪 (@dustinrgodfrey)
He said if the water spilled into a particular low section, that could carry the water through parts of the community and into his property as well. This would be his second time getting flooded in a year, having been hit in last year91裸聊视频檚 floods.
The RDOS had previously delivered 2,000 sandbags and several loads of sand, but added to that after hours Monday night with an additional 24 yards of sand and 4,000 more sandbags.
The community was assisted by Keremeos and Oliver Fire Services.
Provincial agencies are on the ground assessing culverts and local dam infrastructure and working with the RDOS on this localized emergency response event.
The Emergency Operations Centre is continuing to remain open, for more information .
@Jen_zee
jen.zielinski@bpdigital.ca
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