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Weather prompts flooding, landslides, highway closures near Swansea Point

Warm weather, heavy rain and melting snow has resulted in flooding in pockets of the Shuswap.

Warm weather, heavy rain and melting snow has resulted in flooding in pockets of the Shuswap.

Witnesses say a section of road at the upper end of Vickers Trail in Anglemont Estates gave way on Sunday, Feb. 8, destroying a seasonal home on Hudson Road.

The house was pushed about 12 meters and turned sideways by the mud.

Along with the house, power lines were downed by the landslide of debris.

The Anglemont Volunteer Fire Department was called in because of trees burning over the electrical lines. Barriers have been put up to stop traffic from entering the area.

Cliff Doherty, Shuswap Emergency Program co-ordinator, cautions people not to travel past the road barricades as portions of the road have disappeared.

On Monday, Feb. 9, Highway 97A was closed in both directions near Two Mile, between Swansea Point and Sicamous Creek, about 4:30 p.m.

Janet McQuhae, fire chief of the Swansea Point Volunteer Fire Department, said a minor mud flow came down a driveway and flowed onto the highway.

A Drive BC update noted the mudslide meant the highway was reduced to single-lane, alternating traffic while a loader removed the debris.

The road was partially closed for about two hours.

In Silver Creek, residents are also dealing with flooding.

Doherty said residents near the Silver Creek town centre have asked for sandbags and sand to put between their houses and the hillside to divert water.

As well, three other calls to the emergency program had been received by press time Tuesday regarding flooding along the Salmon Valley Road caused by plugged ditches or culverts.

He suggests that if property or structures are prone to high water, residents may wish to take precautionary steps.

“Make sure swales are clear, and water is flowing into nearby ditches rather than water starting to pool and collect.”

He said if the public is in urgent need of sandbags to protect property or structures, some have been placed in the parking lot to the south of the SASCU Sports Complex at Little Mountain on 30th Street in Salmon Arm. A truckload of sand has also been dumped there.

He says if residents call the Columbia Shuswap Regional District’s Emergency Program, they will be directed to that parking lot.

The warm weather responsible for some of the flooding is definitely warmer than usual.

Environment Canada reports that two long-standing temperature records were broken in Salmon Arm in the past few days.

On Friday, Feb. 6, the mercury soared to 11.1 C at the Salmon Arm Airport, breaking the record of an even 10 C set in 1963.

The sun raised the temperature to 11.5 degrees Sunday, beating out the old record of 9.5 C set in 1978.

“For the meantime, temperatures are going to be five and six degrees above normal,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Matt MacDonald on Monday, noting normal high temperatures are in the neighbourhood of plus 2 C, not the plus 8, expected this week. “Starting Sunday, there is a cooling trend.”

MacDonald says the southwest weather pattern will shift to the northwest, bringing cooler air and the possibility of snow in surrounding mountains.

It won’t be a cold snap, but will bring more normal temperatures through the second half of February compared to the mild start to the month.



Martha Wickett

About the Author: Martha Wickett

came to Salmon Arm in May of 2004 to work at the Observer. I was looking for a change from the hustle and bustle of the Lower Mainland, where I had spent more than a decade working in community newspapers.
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