reporter ride along
a night with the police
See LOCAL NEWS page 3
Fort Steele
The great cattle caper
FRIDAY
JUNE 21, 2013
See LOCAL NEWS page 5
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Proudly serving kimberley and area since 1932 | Vol. 81, Issue 119 | www.dailybulletin.ca
Rain has city crews on alert
Riverside paths closed, boil water advisory, residents advised to stay away from creeks
It’s been an intense first week on the job for Kimberley’s new Chief Administrative Officer Scott Sommerville, just arrived from Salmo. In addition to learning the workings of a much larger municipality, City crews are being kept very busy with the heavy rainfall. “We are having some issues,” Sommerville said Thursday morning. First of those is a boil water advisory for all water users in Kimberley, both Matthew and Mark Creek systems. “There has probably been a slide above the reservoir,” he Sommerville said. We are being preemptive. We haven’t quite met turbidity criteria and with the rain forecast to continue things will be stirred up.” The rain is also causing local rivers to swell, and although Mark Creek is not overflowing its banks, it is running very fast and the City has issued an advisory that people stay away from it. The Marysville Falls boardwalk has been closed as has the Lions Way trail, which follows Mark Creek from Kimberley to Marysville.
Area flooding, roads closed during heavy rainfall Cranbrook and Kimberley have so far gotten off easy from rain compared to the Elk Valley and Alberta
C AROLYN GR ANT editor@dailybulletin.ca
$ 10 INCLUDES h.s.t.
Sally MacDonald Townsman Staff
Heavy rainfall is wreaking havoc around the East Kootenay, causing flooding in Fairmont, road closures on all routes to Calgary except Highway 3, and leaving Cranbrook and Kimberley on high alert Photo submitted as we watch our creeks rise. The spillway at the Kimberley dam on Thursday morning. A volunteer weather observer for 40 years, “It’s just a safety precaution because the Dave Dunbar in Marysriver is so high. There is no imminent danger,” ville said that he recordSommerville said. ed 55.6 millimetres (2.2 The good news for Morrison Sub residents inches) of rain in the 24 is that the flood-prone subdivision is so far in hour period between 8 good shape. Sommerville says that both Kima.m. Wednesday, June berley and Lois creeks are not rising too quick19 and 8 a.m. Thursday, ly and there isn’t too much more snow to melt June 20. out of those watersheds. “This morning is al“Morrison Sub should be okay,” he said. most twice as much rain He also said that there were no areas of as I’ve ever recorded at Kimberley in any flood danger but that city one time,” said Dunbar. crews were filling sandbags and would provide Environment Canathem to anyone who needed them. da meteorologist Doug In the meantime, city crews were out monLundquist said that on itoring water levels, watching for any blocked Wednesday, Cranbrook culverts. 31.4 millimetres “Our main concern is trees coming in and Carolyn Grant photo saw knocking out water and sewer mains,” Som- The walkway at Marysville Falls is closed. Please stay away (1.24 inches), and in the first six hours of Thursmerville said. from the creek.
day there had already been 24 millimetres (0.95 inches). “It is not a record overall,” said Lundquist, “but we’ll see what (Thursday) ends up like. We are doing it by calendar day. “Maybe you are not going to break any extreme record, but you have definitely broken two daily records.” In Cranbrook, the city is closely watching Joseph Creek as it burst its banks near Baker Park. “Public Works staff continues to actively monitor Joseph Creek and other local water bodies, along with all City storm drains for any potential flooding issues, as the rain continues to fall today. Although Joseph Creek is rising this morning, Public Works crews report that there is still ample space for the water to rise further before any flooding could potentially occur,” said Chris Zettel, corporate communications officer. The city has prepared almost 400 sandbags should flooding conditions worsen, and it has staff and equipment on standby. See RAIN, page 3
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