Heavy rain in the Peace has caused flooding and closed Highway 97 at the Pine Pass between the Mackenzie Junction and Chetwynd.
The BC River Forecast Centre has issued a flood watch for streams near Pine Pass, Chetwynd, Tumbler Ridge, Dawson Creek, Fort St John and Fort Nelson.
Periods of wet snow will continue over the Pine Pass, turning to rain by Thursday morning.
Environment Canada expects the weather system to continue through Friday. Forecast rainfall totals range from 50 to 100 mm over the next 48 hours. The higher totals are likely near Pine Pass and Hudson Hope and southeast of Fort Nelson.
The Moberly and Kiskatinaw Rivers may reach 10 year highs by Friday morning, while the Fontas may peak on Saturday morning at a 20 year high.
The District of Chetwynd has declared a local state of emergency, stating 79mm of rain fell there in the first 12 hours of Wednesday.
Dawson Creek’s City Manager Jim Chute told the Dawson Creek Mirror “We’re starting to get sewer backups pretty much all over town because the sewer lines are full. We have washouts or overwashes in several locations.”
Power has also been knocked out to large sections of Fort St John. Highway 52 is closed in both directions.
Another shot of the flood waters in Chetwynd. #bcstorm pic.twitter.com/gjUxyGPOOK
— Jonny Wakefield (@jonnywakefield) June 16, 2016
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