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Self fill sandbag station at Jaffray Pub
A 20-person Unit Crew from the Wildfire Management Branch continued to assist with sandbagging efforts, stockpiling almost 2,000 sandbags today at the gravel pit next to the City of Cranbrook’s Public Works Yard on Cobham Avenue and another 1,500 in Fernie.
The automatic sandbagger was moved to Fernie this afternoon (March 10) and crews expect to have a few thousand sandbags filled and ready to be picked up by anyone in the City of Fernie or Regional District of East Kootenay Electoral Area A who needs them.
The pick up location is the Mainroad Contracting yard on Dicken Road, which has 24 hour access.
Members of the Jaffray Volunteer Fire Department assisted with pumping and diverting water last night at a residence in Jaffray as rapid melting started to cause some overland flooding. The Unit Crew assisted with sandbagging in Jaffray today en route to Fernie. The sand and sandbags are located at the Jaffray Pub and Sunrise Grill parking lot. There will also be sand and empty bags for residents to self fill should the supply of filled bags get depleted.
With the run-off conditions seeing little change and stockpiles of sandbags completed today in Fernie and Cranbrook, Emergency Management BC has recalled the Unit Crews and they will no longer be available to assist.
“We are so grateful to the Wildfire Management Branch and the members of the Unit Crews who have been working long hours doing everything from filling sandbags by hand to placing sandbags from Gold Creek to Fernie and all points in between,” said RDEK Information Officer Loree Duczek. “This is hard, physical work and many people have been able to access sandbags quickly under rapidly changing conditions this week thanks to their efforts.”
Although the Unit Crews have been pulled out, there remains the need for sandbagging in the Jaffray area.
“There is a lot of water starting to run in Jaffray and we would like to be ready if the forecasted warmer temperatures materialize this week and the water levels start to increase there,” adds Duczek.
Although the “self fill” sandbag station will remain at the Jaffray Pub parking lot, the members of the Jaffray Volunteer Fire Department will be filling sandbags tomorrow (Tuesday) night starting at 7:30 p.m. Anyone in the community interested in helping is asked to bring a shovel.
The forecast is still calling for a mix of sun and cloud, light scattered showers and temperatures between eight and 10 degrees above zero for the next few days.
The RDEK continues to remind people to stay off lakes and away from streams and creeks as ice conditions can be highly unpredictable. The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and Mainroad Contracting are also dealing with a number of issues along roads and highways in the region. For the latest road conditions, visit www.drivebc.ca.
If you see or experiencing new flooding in the RDEK call 1-800-663-3456. This is the Provincial Emergency Communications Centre and will alert local emergency program officials.
RDEK
