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CHRIS' PHOTO JOURNAL
Flood photojournals
- September 27th 10, Part 1
- September 27th 10, Part 2
- September 28th 10
- September 29th 10
- October 8th 10
- October 10th 10
- October 12th 10
Highway 20 floods
12th October, 2010
I had two options as to how to pick up my van at Nimpo Lake. One was to hitch a ride east for the 30-minute drive to the barrier at Tatla Lake, then hitch another ride west on the bypass, at least an hour and a half. A normal half-hour drive would take a minimum of two hours, most likely much longer as I would have to wait at the barrier for the pilot car. (They run once every two hours.)Or I could walk west. I would have at least 5 km of highway to hike along, as well as the 4 km of my driveway, but I figured I could get a ride on the other side with a road worker so it might be quicker that way. Besides, I wanted to see what was happening with the road.
It was still not quite light when I set off at around 6:30am. I crossed over or detoured round several small washouts, most of which had been filled in enough for a truck to drive over. Then I came to the big one. Remember this photo taken on the 26th september?
This is what it looks like now (from the other end).
Note that the second phone pole from the left is at an angle.
That is because the bottom is washed away.
It is hanging, suspended by the single phone line.
(There are no power lines this far west.)
A few poles further on, was another casualty.
Note the flood debris at the top of the pole!
The phone has been crackling and echoing and often cutting out.
We were warned the line could go any time.
It is a miracle that it has hung on all this time.
In this next picture I am standing on a bit of the old highway.
A truck road has come this far, and I was beginning to wonder if I could get my van back this way
instead of having to use the bypass to Tatla Lake.
But just out of sight on this picture was the westernmost washout.
We had walked a few metres above the road around this hill on the 26th September
but that was all washed away. The cat road went straight up.
Nope. Don't think my van would get up that.
This road sign seems to sum up the situation nicely.
From the top I had a good view of a cat placing huge boulders along the edge of the river.
As I watched, a dump truck brought more fodder.
The dump truck parked and I hastened down, hoping to get a ride.
But the woman driver informed me that she was not leaving the area until 7:00pm; nor was anyone else.
Everyone seems to be working 12-hour shifts.
Your tax dollars are doing an amazing job.
So nothing for it but to hike along the empty road.
I had probably travelled about another 10 km before I got a ride.
The advantage was that I was able to photograph a completely new view of the river,
which was previously hidden by trees from the road.
I am actually standing on the hard top.
They will have to make a picnic area here with a plaque commemorating the flood.
I was surprised to see that the road builders were simply filling in the holes. In Nimpo Lake, I heard that Interior Roads were "putting the river back where it belonged," but the whole river has changed course dramatically, not just the bit that went over the road, and although we probably won't get as severe a flood for a few more years, all sorts of new forces will come into play. We will see what happens with the annual spring flood next year.
As to when they will finish this stretch of road, who knows? One rumour estimates two weeks (which is obviously out-to-lunch), another says we will be using the bypass all winter. The good news is that on the 12th people were at last able to drive into and out of the Bella Coola Valley. There was a single-lane piloted opening for three hours.
Here is an extract from a friends' e-mail down there:
....Most people we know had water up to their windows along grant road and in hagensborg. thankfully the water receded quickly and homes were largely water free within one-two days. the mess people are dealing with is mostly the mud left behind. one person lost his home entirely on walker island (it floated away) and even more unfortunate for him he is american and his house here isn't his 'principle residence' so he doesn't get a dime from the flood relief. the flood relief is actually very disappointing for most people since it covers NO expenses/losses in someone's basement (including ruined washer/dryer/hot water tanks/furnaces, or structural costs). i feel really bad for these people. ....... everyone is trying their best to help out their neighbours--it's really uplifting to see. the road is a mess still, they're working on it furiously ....... the river has drastically changed and has found new channels almost everywhere we've looked. supplies came in yesterday so there are milk and eggs again. luckily most people in bella coola are crazy for canning, smoking, freezing pretty much anything they can get their hands on and there hasn't been any really hardships encountered yet. even the restaurants are running still. the only hardships being encountered right now due to lack of food are for the animals. there are no fish in the river right now so the bears are VERY hungry and many have been shot this week because they're killing livestock and approaching humans (2 sows were just killed leaving 4 cubs to be shipped and rehabbed in smithers). the cougars are getting very bold and twice they've attempted attack on human on one particular area in hagensborg. a mother cougar was just killed because she was after some livestock and she left behind 3 small kittens (unfortunately they don't have rehab for kittens and they were put down).
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