Nearly 350 people in Grand Forks, Electoral Area D, Christina Lake, Midway and Area E are free to return to their homes or businesses today shortly after rapid damage assessors inspected their properties and rescinded 175 evacuation orders.
The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) says that the majority of properties assessed were in the City of Grand Forks.
Several hundred homes that were evacuated due to loss of road access after flooding will also have their orders rescinded once access is restored. According to the RDKB, these homes do not require damage assessments and owners will not see assessment placards on their doors.
Even in areas where flood waters caused little to no damage, evacuation orders can only be rescinded once properties have been verified as safe to occupy.
Rapid damage assessments continue today with the goal of completing nearly all assessments by tomorrow.
“We are now completely focused on getting as many people as possible back home and back into their businesses as soon as it’s safe for them,” said Roly Russell, chair of the RDKB board of directors. “The stress has been enormous for everyone, and getting home is the first of many steps toward recovering from this disaster.”
In a span of 53 hours between May 18 and 19 the RDKB mobilized, trained and deployed 20 RDA teams in the region. Those teams were able to assess 387 addresses in three hours on May 19 using a mobile inspection report that was then uploaded in real time to a GIS-based mapping system in the EOC.
“The City of Grand Forks is working closely with the RDKB to restore access to downtown businesses,” said Grand Forks Mayor Frank Konrad. “We all know the business community and want to see them recover as quickly as possible."
Waters could rise again later in the week if we receive heavy rain, so the RDKB is encouraging Boundary residents to keep sandbags in place until more high elevation snow has melted in the coming weeks.
The rising water level in the Kettle River watershed has also increased the risk of sloughing, erosion and bank instability in multiple locations across the Boundary. Thirty-nine addresses in the Grand Forks area have been issued hazard notices due to potentially unsafe riverbank conditions.
