1 home destroyed as flood risk prompts more evacuation orders in Cache Creek, B.C.: fire chief

Flooding in B.C.'s Interior has destroyed one home and forced several others to be evacuated, according to the local fire chief. 

Evacuation orders are now in place for five properties — including the local firehall — in the Village of Cache Creek, B.C., where a local state of emergency was declared on May 1 as the nearby creek and river threatened homes in the area and posed an "imminent threat to people and property."

On Tuesday, the B.C. River Forecast Centre issued a flood warning for the Cache Creek, the Bonaparte River and the surrounding area. 

Cache Creek fire chief Tom Moe says one of the very first homes to be placed under an evacuation order earlier this week is "a total loss."

"It's totally devastated," he said.

Accelerated snowmelt caused by recent rising temperatures has caused river-level fluctuations, and there are warnings that additional rainfall forecast for later this week could cause increased flooding.

Moe says the impact to the community has been devastating. 

"We've been working hard for four days trying to keep the water at bay and then last night, at around eight o'clock, all our efforts were dashed when the creek breached and we now have a river flowing through our firehall," Moe said.

"We're used to the flooding, which is not a good thing, but this is one of the worst events that I've been a part of as far as floods go.

"The water has gone up and basically not come down."

The full impact of the damage won't be clear until the flooding recedes, he said. 

Cache Creek Mayor John Ranta said water levels are the highest he's ever seen in the village.

"With the amount of water coming down, it's hard to describe, but putting a few sandbags up is not going to save anything," he said in an interview. "The water is going to go where the water wants to go."

Ranta says many businesses have been devastated by the flooding, and the floodwaters are running through the firehall.

The mayor says he's spoken with Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma, who offered support from the province, and several B.C Wildfire Service crews are in the village to help distribute sandbags.

But Ranta says there's nothing they can do until the waters recede, then take steps to prevent similar extensive flooding from happening in the future.

As part of the flood warning, residents are being told to stay three metres away from water banks, and to keep children and pets a safe distance away. 

Residents are also being warned to prepare for additional evacuation orders.

The village is operating an emergency centre at the community hall and that's where people should go if they need to leave their homes, Ranta said.

The two major highways that converge in Cache Creek, Highway 1 and Highway 97, have been closed due to flooding in the village, according to DriveBC. Highway 1 is closed at Collins Road and Highway 97 is closed at Stephenson Road.

"There's basically a river flowing across the highway right now," Moe said.

"It's kind of hard to see what impact the water has done on the highway because it's underwater. I'm sure there will be damage."

Susan McMillan, who manages the Grubstake Foodmart just metres away from the flooded junction on Highway 1, says she's hopeful the waters will recede soon. 

"It's pretty intense sometimes but it's not really long-lasting," she said of flooding incidents in the village. "I'm hoping that it settles down but it depends on weather and rain."

McMillan says she's not worried about flood waters getting high enough to reach the store.

Familiar with natural disasters

Cache Creek is a small village about 80 kilometres west of Kamloops. In 2021, there were an estimated 969 people living there.

It's situated in a valley on the Bonaparte River, a tributary of the Thompson River. 

The community is familiar with natural disasters. 

In late May 2015, more than a dozen properties were evacuated after flash flooding forced the closure of highways and destroyed homes. 

In early May 2017, then-fire chief Clayton Cassidy died after he was swept away by flood waters. 

Cache Creek was again put on flood warning In April 2020 and by late that May, 175 properties in the village were on evacuation alert. A few months later, 200 properties were again on evacuation alert and some residents were ordered to leave as high water levels rose due to heavy rain. 

Cache Creek residents have also seen their share of wildfires over the years. 

The entire village was evacuated for months in the summer of 2017 when the Elephant Hill wildfire, one of the most destructive fires recorded in the province's history, tore through the region.

In 2021, the whole community was put on alert when a wildfire threatened the area.