Skakun reflects on recent rise of Fraser River

Prince George City Councillor Brian Skakun shared his experience about the rapid rise in water levels along the Fraser River.

According to the BC River Forecast Centre, the river rose 3.4 meters since Monday from 4.2 to 7.6.

He says it was quite the increase.

“I go by the river several times a day and I had noticed the river had drastically come up there were large trees floating down the river, the water was really muddy and I thought it was an increase of about 10 feet in a little over a day, which is so rare for this time of year.”

Skakun adds there was a lot of snowmelt in the McBride area within the Upper Fraser watershed, which affected the level of the river.

The Forecast Centre did issue a high streamflow advisory earlier this week but has since ended.

Skakun says his main concern was for everyone nearby.

“My real concern was just the safety of the people because a lot of people walk around Cottonwood Island Park on the dry riverbed at this time of year, the trails and a lot of different things are exposed but all those things would have changed almost overnight.”

A certain part of the city may need to be addressed.

“Paddlewheel Park is certainly an issue as we have neighbourhoods around there and the fact that the river could have gone up and people might not have realized it until it would have been up to the riverbanks. To have this happen at this time of the year is really a rare occurrence,” added Skakun.

“A lot of people started speaking up about it and seeing the things they saw washing down the river gave some much-needed attention, so I think people are aware how the river can change rapidly.”

According to the River Forecast Centre, South Fort George near Paddlewheel can be prone to flooding if the water levels exceed nine meters.

Skakun says the river has gone down about 80 centimetres in the last 24 hours.

#princegeorge #cityofpg pic.twitter.com/ZklndXXBRR

— Brian Skakun (@BrianSkakunCity) October 18, 2017