Hope’s riverbanks held strong against heavy rainfall and atmospheric river conditions Wednesday (Dec. 10).
Despite receiving 140 millimetres of rain Wednesday night the District of Hope said that the riverbanks “largely held with freeboard to spare.”
“There are localized areas of flooding in low-lying areas that tend to flood when events like this occur,” said John Fortoloczky, the district’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). “These areas are mostly in the East Kawkawa lake area and along Kawkawa Lake and Kettle Valley Roads. We expect the situation to continue to improve despite weather forecasts for more moderate rain.”
Localized flooding could be seen at Second Beach, which is the area at the bottom of Kawkawa Lake Road, on Water Street, Flood Hope Road, and other areas in Hope.
Part of the area near the Silver Skagit Road, by the Dragon’s Back (Kw’okw’echíwel Stl’áleqem) trail, was also washed out Wednesday night due to flooding.
Flooding can also be seen for parts of the Hope Golf and Country Club, which is located next to the Coquihalla River and Fraser River.
According to David Campbell, head of the River Forecast Centre, the rivers in Chilliwack, Hope, and as far as E.C. Manning Park, reached their peaks Wednesday night and are starting to drop on Thursday. However flood warnings are still in place for the Fraser Valley, particularly for the Sumas region.
Campbell also said that the region should expect another round of atmospheric river conditions and stormy weather systems around Sunday (Dec. 14) to Monday (Dec. 15).
Roads in the Hope area, which includes most of the highways into and out of town, were closed due to rockslides, landslides, and flooding.
Flood Hope Road, at the Richmond Hill area, and Exit 170 were closed in both directions due to flooding and a landslide that took place Wednesday night. The road and exit remains closed for the district to conduct a slope safety assessment and eventual cleanup.
Highway 1 was closed eastbound from Highway 9 to Hope. Highway 3 was closed in both directions from Hope to Copper Mountain Road. The Coquihalla Highway was also closed from Othello Road to Exit 290 in Merritt.
Highway 7 was reopened to one lane of alternating traffic after a rockslide near the Haig Station between Highway 9 and Ross Road. The Ministry of Transportation and Transit said that there was no significant damage to the road and “ongoing work is focused on removing materials from the roadway” and the highway is expected to reopen Thursday evening.
During the November 2021 floods, Hope was completely cut off from the rest of B.C. for several days and people camped in their vehicles under overpasses, and along the highways. At the time, people who were stranded by the floods were able to take shelter at the Shxwelís te Ts’qó:ls – The Spirit of Hope Secondary School.