Weekend forecasts for Boundary waterways were initially alarming when they came out one week ago – the Granby and West Kettle River were projected to eclipse their 2018 peaks, while the Kettle River near Ferry was projected to hit near-2017 levels. The graphs rode a roller-coaster into the weekend, but prompted Boundary residents and businesses to fortify their protections, just in case.
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A handful of downtown storefronts were blocked by stacked sandbags by Sunday afternoon.
On Friday night downtown businesses and some residents held an outdoor meeting at 4th Street and Market Avenue to try and get a handle on what the city was going to do to protect them. People came out with more questions than answers for city officials who were present. It was then that Grand Forks learned that 40 BC Wildfire crew members would be deployed to the city beginning Saturday morning to install Tiger dams.
(Above) Grand Forks firefighters and BC Wildfire members spend Saturday and Sunday unfurling temporary dams along Riverside Drive and through alleyways and back yards along the Granby and Kettle rivers.
(Above) Grand Forks firefighters and BC Wildfire members spend Saturday and Sunday unfurling temporary dams along Riverside Drive and through alleyways and back yards along the Granby and Kettle rivers.
Emily Houde directs traffic in the loading area at the Grand Forks arena on May 31.
Doug Dunbar loads a truck with sandbags on Sunday.
An earth berm was built on 68th Avenue between Interfor and the connecting bridge to Highway 3.
A series of thunder storms on May 30 and early on May 31 dropped lots of rain and caused local rivers and tributaries to swell over the weekend.
