PRRD Fires, Floods & Drought

PRRD Fires, Floods & Drought Welcome to the Peace!

• Area = 12 million hectares (120,000 km2) • Approximately 15% of the Province of BC • 7 municipalies, 4 electoral areas Fort St John • BC Stats populaon of 66,504 • 1/3 of populaon in the electoral areas Hudson’s Hope Municipalies Electoral Areas • City of Dawson Creek • Electoral Area B • City of Fort St. John • Electoral Area C Chetwynd • District of Taylor • Electoral Area D • District of Chetwynd • Electoral Area E Dawson Creek • District of Hudson’s Hope • District of Tumbler Ridge • Village of Pouce Coupe

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts

When it’s not hoer and drier, it is going to be weer!

Weather and condions are UNPREDICTABLE!

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts May, June & July 2011

• High snow pack ~150% of normal & late spring freshet • Higher than normal rains in mid-May brought elevated lake levels to the Moberly Lake area resulng in minor ﬂooding • June rain event = 100-150mm of rain in 48 hours • July rain event = 80-100mm of rain in 48 hours

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts Impacts • 150 roads impacted at ~ 280 different locaons • CN Rail line impacted and trains derailed into the Pine River • Pipeline infrastructure impacted • BC Hydro power line for Tumbler Ridge affected • Pine Pass was closed for ~ 1 week • Hundreds of properes from the West Peace to the South Peace reported damage due to flooding • Moberly Lake, Hasler, Willow Flats, Dokie, Stone Creek and Wildmare Creek saw the greatest amount of damage • Large amount of gravel and debris fill stream beds • $2+ million in claims paid out through Disaster Financial Assistance • Event classified as a 1:100 year flood event

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts

2011 Connued! Dawson Creek Precip. Chetwynd Precip. Fort St John Precip.

• June = 142.6 mm • June = 188.5 mm • June = 170.1 mm • July = 126.8 mm • July = 136.0 mm • July = 144.9 mm • August = 26.5 mm • August = 6.4 mm • August = 19.7 mm • September = 7.4 mm • September = 22.8 mm • September = 26.1 mm • October = 5.0 mm • October = 10.6 mm • October = 7.2 mm

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts 2014

• Peace has been experiencing drought condions for a number of years • Drought condions along with high temperatures increase ﬁre danger rang • Forest fuels were DRY, DRY, DRY! And temperatures were HIGH, HIGH, HIGH!

Result: • McAllister Fire: caused the evacuaon of Hudson’s Hope; evacuaon alert for Moberly Lake, West Moberly FN and Saulteau FN; threatened WAC Benne Dam & Dokie Wind Farm • Red Deer Creek Fire: evacuaon ordered for oil and gas facilies • Mesalinka Fire: evacuaon alert for Tsey Keh Dene • Tommy Lakes Fire: impacted oil and gas operaons; evacuaon alert issued • Prince George Fire Centre ended season with 405 ﬁres; cost close to $75 million

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts

Monday, April 18,

2016 Dawson Creek - April 18, 2016

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Temp Wind Speed

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts Monday, April 18,

2016 Fort St John - April 18 , 2016

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Temp Wind Speed

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts April & May Wildﬁres

Monday, April 18 = 43 ﬁres in 6 hours Thursday, April 21 = 57 ﬁres

May 1 to May 8 = * * • extreme ﬁre behavior on Beaon Fort St John Airport Road & Siphon Creek Fires; * • evacuaons of 256 properes on Hudson’s Hope * * * May 4 • Siphon Creek grew from 4,000 ha to 41,400 ha in 7 days Dawson Creek • Beaon grew from 5,500 ha to 15,000 ha in 7 days

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Place Title of Presentaon Here PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Place Title of Presentaon Here

April & May Wildﬁres

Monday, May 16 PRRD = 2 Alerts (106), 1 Order (130)

Siphon Creek 66,600 ha 30% contained Beaon 15,000 ha 45% contained * * Halfway 3,000 ha 50% contained Fort St John

Hudson’s Hope * Beaon was predicted to grow rapidly & extreme ﬁre behavior was expected Dawson Creek

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Place Title of Presentaon Here April & May Wildﬁres

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Place Title of Presentaon Here PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts May & April

Evacuaon SOLE’s Civic Orders 4 3218 Address placed on Evac Alert 8

Civic 12 Addresses 567 placed on Evacuaon Evac Order Alerts

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts June 2016 Flood Event

Wednesday, June 15, 2016 • Environment Canada predicted 100mm+ rain • 1500 hrs • Spectra evacuated Pine River Fort St John Gas Plant due to egress issues for staﬀ Hudson’s Hope • Pine Pass closed * * Chetwynd * * • Highway to Tumbler Ridge ** * * * Dawson Creek closed * • By end of day many roads and bridges already impacted • Flood issues appear to be in similar areas as 2011 although full impact not yet known

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts

June 2016 Flood Event

Thursday, June 16, 2016 • More roads connue to become closed as MOTI and road contractor idenfy issues (286 in total) • Fisher Creek & Commoon Creek bridges Fort St John destroyed – 1 family travelling through area stranded between bridges and requires Hudson’s Hope helicopter evacuaon due to health issues * * Chetwynd * * • 100+ residents in Hasler and Willow Flats trapped ** * * * Dawson Creek • Ulity impacts: Telus, BC Hydro and Fors * • Industry impacts: • Spectra & Pembina pipelines daylighng • CN Rail tracks destroyed or hanging without support

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts

June 2016 Flood Event

Thursday, June 16, 2016 Dawson Creek = 105 mm rain in 24 hrs Chetwynd = 129 mm in 24 hrs Generally contained to the South Peace Fort St John Flood History 1:100 year events: • 1987 Hudson’s Hope 14 years * * Chetwynd * * • 2001 ** * * * Dawson Creek 10 years * • 2011 5 years • 2016

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts June 2016 Flood Event

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts What are we doing?

Wildﬁres: • Public educaon

• Work with Wildﬁre Management Branch to encourage property owners FireSmart their properes

• Be prepared to respond: consideraon of expanding ﬁre protecon boundaries and invesng in wildland ﬁre equipment (brush trucks, side x sides)

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts What are we doing?

Flooding: • Stream assessments

• Determinaon of areas of risk

• Prescripons to remediate 11 creeks

• One-me grant from the Province of BC!! $$

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts What are we doing? Flooding: • Stream rehabilitaon works

• Applying to the Naonal Disaster Migaon Program for more assessments, ﬂood plain mapping & migave works

• Consideraon of local service areas to ﬁnancially support ongoing care and maintenance of high risk streams and future migave works

• MOTI creang a plan to upgrade stream crossings

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts What are we doing?

Drought: • Understanding our resource

• Collaborang with other agencies: SFU, GeoScience BC, FLNRO, OGC, MOE

• Learning about the governance of water and being part of the conversaon

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts Quesons?

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires, Floods & Droughts HEAD OFFICE BRANCH OFFICE WEBSITE

Box 810 1981 Alaska Avenue 9505 100 Street www.prrd.bc.ca Dawson Creek, BC Fort St. John, BC V1G 4HB V1J 4N4 Peace River Regional District oﬃce Page | Facebook Tel: 250-784-3200 Tel: 250-785-8084 Toll Free: 250-670-7773 Toll Free: 250-670-7773 Fax: 250-784-3201 Fax: 250-785-1125 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT | Fires & Floods 2016