Officials in Abbotsford, B.C. will hold another press conference on Wednesday as they urge all residents of the Sumas Prairie area to evacuate immediately.
The area, south of Abbotsford, was evacuated on Tuesday as high water in neighboring Washington state pushed the Sumas River out of its bed, but the urgency for the evacuation increased overnight, so that these waters now threaten a vital pumping station.
Authorities say the Barrowtown station is preventing water from filling what was once Sumas Lake, but they say the lake will fill up if the station stops pumping and water from the nearby Fraser River will also start. to invade the plain.
Mayor Henry Braun says there is a significant risk to human life and everyone in the rural farming area must leave, because “people’s lives are more important right now than cattle and chickens” .
Federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair has indicated that the Canadian Armed Forces have been called in to assist. Soldiers must get there quickly to speed up the evacuation.
“In response to the extreme flooding in southern British Columbia, we have approved the deployment of Canadian Forces air support personnel to assist with evacuation efforts, support supply routes and protect residents from flooding and landslides, ”he wrote on his Twitter account.
In addition, a major fire is raging on the site of a recreational vehicle dealership in Abbotsford. The fire services are trying to contain the blaze.
About a hundred RVs are tightly parked on the retailer’s property and around forty firefighters are at work to fight the flames.
To add to the complexity of the operation, high voltage lines pass just above the site of the fire, which represents an additional element of danger.
Residents in the surrounding area have been instructed to keep doors and windows closed due to the potentially toxic smoke.