Prince George Citizen August 28, 2018 by Prince George Citizen

Tuesday, August 28, 2018 | Your community newspaper since 1916

Rain, cooler temperatures bring some wildfire relief Citizen news service

CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

Crews with the City of Prince George have determined the cause of recurring sinkholes near the intersection of Carney Street/20th Avenue and Winnipeg Street/Massey Drive. Crews have successfully removed enough water from around a large storm sewer pipe to be able to identify a failure in the pipe about three metres north of a manhole at the site.

City ready to repair sinkhole after getting to bottom of cause Citizen staff The mystery surrounding the recurring sinkhole at the corner of Winnipeg and Carney has been solved and workers are now in a position to carry out repairs, according to city hall. Enough water has been drained from the site to unveil a failure in a storm sewer pipe about three metres north of a manhole. The city said the section in question is about six metres long and has partially collapsed

below groundwater. “Holes of up to 10 inches in diameter have formed on the pipe and, during large rainfall events, water flows suck nearby material into the pipe and cause sinkholes,” the city said in a press release issued Monday afternoon. The southbound lanes of Winnipeg Street will be closed starting today and will remain that way until further notice to allow workers to remove the damaged section and replace it with a concrete chamber which the city said

“will restore the integrity of the pipe and allow for easier maintenance of the storm system.” The work is expected to last a few more weeks, the city said, and urged drivers to be patient and cautious and to follow signage when around road crews and to seek alternate routes. Earlier this year, a temporary dam was installed to allow enough water to be removed from around the sinkhole to get a better look at what was causing the trouble. The site has been the scene of ongoing trouble with sinkholes.

Area restriction for Hugh Allen Creek wildfire to be rescinded Citizen staff The B.C. Wildfire Service is rescinding an area restriction order for Crown land in the vicinity of the Hugh Allen Creek wildfire on the east side of Kinbasket Lake about 60 kilometres southeast of Valemount. The move is being made in response to reduced fire activity and progress made by firefighting crews but the BCWS also said the wildfire is still active and that the public should remain cautious. “Before entering any area that has been affected by wildfire, members of the public should be aware that significant safety hazards may be present,” the agency said. “Trees that have been damaged by fire might be unstable and could fall down. “Ash pits can be hard to detect and can remain hot long after the flames have died down.” Even if an area restriction has been rescinded, officials still have the authority under the Wildfire Act and its regulations to order anyone to leave the area. At one point the fire had reached 10,000

Today’s Weather Hi +18° Low +11° See page 2 for more details and short-term forecasts

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Before entering any area that has been affected by wildfire, members of the public should be aware that significant safety hazards may be present. — B.C. Wildfire Service square hectares but was no longer considered a wildfire of note as of Aug. 16. On Monday morning, a BCWS area restriction order went into effect for the Shovel Lake fire just north of Fraser Lake while the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako partially rescinded an evacuation alert for the area from east of Sutherland River Park to west of Marie Forest Service Road. The area remaining under evacuation alert now extends from the north shore of Fraser

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Lake to the middle of Sutherland River Park and east of the center of Taltapin Lake to west of Dog Creek Forest Service Road. The area restriction limits access to only people living or working in the area not under an evacuation order. The Shovel Lake measured 91,253 hectares as of midday Monday. On Sunday, an evacuation order was partially lifted for the Island Lake fire from 12244 Dahlgren Road east along the south shore of Francois Lake. It remained in place for the area south of Dahlgren Road. And on Saturday, an evacuation alert was partially lifted for the Nadina Lake fire, southwest of Burns Lake, from east of Highway 35 to west of the Terser Lake FSR and south of the Seven Mile FSR to the north shore of Francois Lake. However, on Friday night an evacuation alert was issued for Takla Lake from south of Mount Blanchet Park to north of Middle River. As of Monday, the Island Lake fire stood at 20,409 hectares, Nadina Lake fire was 85,428 and the Tezzeron Lake north of Fort St. James was 10,000 hectares, according to BCWS.

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PRINCE GEORGE — Rain fell and temperatures cooled in many parts of British Columbia over the weekend, reducing wildfire risk but not bringing as much relief as needed to crews battling hundreds of blazes in the province. “It has definitely taken the edge off in some areas,” Kevin Skrepnek, chief fire information officer for the BC Wildfire Service, said Monday. “Having said that, in some areas where we needed this rain the most, unfortunately it just didn’t materialize.” The regions that didn’t see rain include central B.C., where major wildfires included the 912-squarekilometre Shovel Lake fire, and the northwest, where the 1,180-square-kilometre Alkali Lake blaze has destroyed dozens of structures in Telegraph Creek, Skrepnek said. No significant rain is expected in those areas any time soon, he added. “Every little bit will help, but there’s nothing on the horizon right now that’s going to be ending the fire season by any stretch,” he said. The province has, however, turned a corner in terms of temperatures, Skrepnek said, with seasonal and belowseasonal temperatures as well as shorter days, longer nights and more humidity. The Wildfire Service said in a news release on Monday that rain and cooler temperatures have reduced the risk of wildfires in the province’s northeast and campfires will be allowed in the Fort Nelson and Peace forest districts as of 12 p.m. today. The weather is starting to look more favourable for the wildfire risk diminishing, said Armel Castellan, warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada. There has been rainfall without lightning and temperatures in the single-digits in some areas, he said. But he said the rain over the weekend still wasn’t enough. “Four millimetres in Kelowna is something. It’s not just a drop in the bucket, nor is it going to fill the bucket,” he said. Rain is in the forecast for the central Interior on Wednesday and Thursday, and for the southern Interior on Friday, though large amounts are not expected with about five to 10 millimetres forecast, he said. More precipitation could fall in northern B.C. around Dease Lake, not far from where the Alkali Lake fire is burning, Castellan said. “The end is certainly coming,” he said. — see ‘YOU’RE NOT, page 3

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