Portions of Poplar Point Drive, at the base of Knox Mountain in Kelowna, are covered in water, Friday, June 2, 2017.
(JENNA HICKMAN / iNFOnews.ca)
June 02, 2017 - 11:38 AM
KELOWNA - With updates pouring in daily on current flooding statistics, here is what you need to know as of Friday afternoon.
Current measurements have the lake at 343.194 metres, and predicted to continue rising as the snowpack melts.
Officials say Okanagan Lake levels could increase to a level of 343.25 metres before the spring runoff is over. Lake levels are not expected to peak until the middle of June.
With Mission Creek flowing between 65 and 85 cubic metres per second, Central Okanagan Emergency Services are warning people to stay away from the flowing water.
Kelowna mayor Colin Basran posted a video Friday afternoon telling people to enjoy “wake-free” options when using the lake in the coming weeks.
City manager, and emergency operations centre deputy director Ron Mattiussi also uploaded a video on the current flooding situation.
“Water levels are going to start picking up as upper elevations heat up too and more snow melts,” he said. “Rain is the wild card, it is June so we’re going to get rain, the question is how much and where.”
As the lake continues to rise, people all across the valley are sandbagging anywhere they can to help minimize damage.
Water is seeping through a wall of sandbags and the aqua dams, and pouring onto Poplar Point Drive in downtown Kelowna. Portions of the road at the base of Knox Mountain had a few inches of water covering the pavement this morning, June 2.
Yesterday, an evacuation order was issued for five waterfront properties in the Killiney Beach area within the Central Okanagan West Electoral Area.
For the very latest on evacuation alerts and orders in the Central Okanagan go to the Emergency Operations Centre website.
For information on boat launches, park and beach closures, along with water quality advisories you can go to the municipal government websites in the Central Okanagan:
If you have any observations or photos of the current flooding, feel free to share them in the comments below.
B.C. Wildfire firefighters work to stop water from penetrating the current wall of sandbags at the Cambridge Avenue boat launch on Okanagan Lake in Kelowna, Friday, June 2, 2017.
(JENNA HICKMAN / iNFOnews.ca)
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