THURSDAY
K A M L O O P S
THIS WEEK
ONLINE ALL THE TIME: BREAKING NEWS AND UPDATES AT KAMLOOPSTHISWEEK.COM Thursday, June 21, 2012 X Volume 25 No. 50 www.kamloopsthisweek.com X 30 cents at Newsstands
THE RIVER RISES RAPIDLY By Tim Petruk and Andrea Klassen STAFF REPORTERS tim@kamloopsthisweek.com/andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
City of Kamloops officials have taped off large swaths of Riverside Park and the Interior Savings Centre parking lot as water levels continue to rise. “We don’t see this very often,” said Jon Wilson, the city’s community safety and enforcement manager. “I know the [city’s] senior-management group has met just to make sure everything’s covered off for now.” As of Tuesday night (June 19), city bylaws officers had taped off the north and
northwest sections of ISC’s parking lot and the entire beach of Riverside Park — all of which is under water. Wilson said the tape is a precaution, put up because some onlookers were getting too close to the water and “tempting fate.” In some parts of the park, the water has spilled past the benches near the beach. The B.C. River Forecast Centre has issued a flood watch for South Thompson and Shuswap Lake and a high streamflow advisory for the North Thompson, though a centre spokesperson said that river could be back on flood watch next week. The South Thompson River at Chase is expected to produce flows of at least 1,400
cubic metres per second, increasing to between 1,400 and 1,600 cubic metres per second. The river’s rise is expected to continue for the next five to 10 days. By comparison, flood levels in 1999 were 1,430 cubic metres per second and the record flood of 1948 reached 1,620 cubic metres per second. The amount and rate of rise and ultimate peak level will depend on the weather over the next two weeks. David Jones, an Environment Canada weather specialist, said more rain is expected to hit the city Saturday and a series of storms and heavy rains could rattle through the region for the next week. X See ONE A5
Benches in Pioneer Park show how far the South Thompson River has travelled inland. Water is so high that the city has closed the pier at Riverside Park, with the liquid lapping at the structure. Dave Eagles/KTW