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Heavy rains bring the water and mud down the mountains

The first week of June has been wet enough to make packing an ark or developing webbed feet seem reasonable.
89117nakuspDaleWeatherhead
Dale Weatherhead was busy Thursday

The first week of June has been wet enough to make packing an ark or developing webbed feet seem reasonable.

The combination of rain and spring runoff has culminated in slides around the area that have taken out the Trans Canada between Revelstoke and Golden, and some residents in Crawford Bay were forced from their homes due to rising water levels. Flooding is also feared in the Slocan and Salmo areas, where high water levels can swamp folks there.

More precipitation, but in the form of snow, shut down Kootenay pass the first week of June, and another washout on 3A closed the highway between Castlegar and Creston.

Around Nakusp, there have been washouts, but they have been minor in comparison.

On Highway 6 near MacDonald Creek, water jumped the ditch when debris washed down by rain plugged the culvert.

The same happened on Highway 6 near Summit Lake, with machines having to be brought out at both sites to redig ditches and clear debris.

Summit Lake area farmer Tim Fox told The Arrow Lakes News that one of his lower fields was under several inches of water as of June 7.

Thursday saw a reprieve from rain, but it was back during the evening, and the forecast is calling for periods of the stuff over the next week.

Dale Weatherhead, who was busy cleaning off the last of the washout Thursday, June 7, hoped that this was as bad as it was going to get around here.

The Provincial Emergency Program appeared hopeful as well, and ended its flood watch for rivers in the Kootenay and Columbia regions on the morning of Friday, June 8.