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Increased flood risk in Burns Lake and area

Upper Fraser and Nechako basins are well above average conditions.
Increased flood risk in Burns Lake and area
Local resident Mike Robertson sent in this picture of the water flooding by the Francois Lake ferry landing. Francois Lake is 16 inches away from the extreme lake level reached on June 11

At a basin-wide scale, much higher than normal snow packs in the Upper Fraser West basin indicate increased seasonal flood risk in the Nechako basin this year, according to the May 1, 2015, snow basin indices by the B.C. River Forecast Centre.

Near-normal snow packs – 90 to 110 per cent - indicate normal seasonal flood risk. Snow packs in the Upper Fraser West region are 155 per cent of normal for this time of year. The Upper Fraser West basin includes the communities of Burns Lake, Fort St. James and Vanderhoof.

Increased snow basin indices were recorded in the Nechako (+12 per cent), Skeena-Nass (+16 per cent), Stikine (+26 per cent), Upper Fraser West (+35 per cent) and Liard (+1per cent) basins due to snow accumulation associated with the cold low systems that affected Northern B.C.

Mark Neave, Marine Manager at WaterBridge Equipment Inc., said the freshet in the Lakes District area seems to be running earlier than normal. Neave said the Tchesinkut Lake is running “very high” for this time of year, and that the same is happening at Francois Lake.

“Francois Lake is 16 inches away from the extreme lake level reached on June 11, 2007,” he said. “We seem to be approximately four weeks ahead of normal spring runoff.”

Sandy's RV and Camping Resort, scheduled to open for the season on May 15, had to postpone its opening due to the high levels of water.

Owner Sheila Clovis said she apologizes to all her customers. Clovis will provide daily updates on the resort’s Facebook page. Residents can also call the Burns Lake and District Chamber of Commerce for more information at 250-692-3773.

Seasonal melt of particularly high snow packs have resulted in high flow conditions on the Nautley and upper Nechako rivers. The high flow conditions are likely to persist through June depending on the spring precipitation conditions.

According to B.C. River Forecast Centre, due to the early melt of low and mid-elevation snow packs throughout most of the province, smaller, low elevation, ungauged basins may have already passed through peak flows for the freshet season.

Elsewhere in the province, the seasonal flood risk is about normal in the Peace, Liard, Upper Fraser East, Skeena-Nass, Stikine, and Thompson basins due to close to normal snow basin indices. Below normal snow packs - 50 to 80 per cent - in the Middle Fraser, Upper Columbia, West Kootenay, Okanagan, Boundary, Central Coast, Stikine, and Northwest indicate below normal seasonal flood risk for these regions.

The average of all provincial snow water equivalent measurements for May 1 is 69 per cent of average conditions. This is the lowest province-wide average for the May 1 bulletin in the past 31 years of record and is primarily due to the record low snow packs in the southern areas of the province.

The River Forecast Centre will continue to monitor snow pack conditions and streamflow across the province. Snow melt “Freshet” information, including stream flow mapping, is available at: http://bcrfc.env.gov.bc.ca/freshet/index.htm.

And although it seems wet with flooding accruing, the Northwest Fire Centre is also urging the public to take extreme caution with any burning.

“Most fires that start at this time of year are human-caused and entirely preventable,” said Olivia Pojar, Information Officer for the Northwest Fire Centre.

Seasonal lightning is occurring in some areas of the province, and preventable human-caused fires drain vital resources from response to lightning-caused wildfires, she said.

An upper ridge over the northern part of the province is producing temperatures well above seasonal averages and humidity well below seasonal averages. This recent weather trend of hot and dry conditions has caused forest fuels to become very flammable.

“The fuels will likely remain flammable until we receive significant precipitation,” said Pojar.

The fire danger rating for the Northwest Fire Centre is currently “moderate to high,” which means that the fire risk is serious - new fires may start easily and burn vigorously, causing challenges to fire suppression efforts.

“Extreme caution must be used in all burning activities,” warned Pojar.