Prince George evacuation orders remain in place

An evacuation order and state of local emergency remain in place in Prince George, B.C., as river levels are expected to rise in the coming days.

The Fraser River at the South Fort George peaked at just under 10 metres at 4 a.m. PT Saturday.

The B.C. River Forecast Centre has issued a high streamflow advisory for the Fraser River from Quesnel to the ocean, including the Fraser Canyon and Lower Mainland. Officials say heavy rainfall has created a "pulse of water" that is working its way through the Upper Fraser and Thompson river systems.

Officials are also keeping an eye on the Nechako River, which continues to rise slowly.

No changes to the evacuation order affecting 17 homes in Prince George are expected before Monday.

Meanwhile, David Campbell with the river forecast centre said officials are now keeping an eye on the Liard River in northern B.C. A flood warning was issued early Saturday for the Liard River at Upper Crossing and Lower Crossing.   

"We've had pretty dramatic rises over the last few days through the Liard River and reached flood stage last [Friday] night in the Upper Liard," he said.

"Things are still rising quite rapidly there so it's one we're watching quite closely at this point. There's no real sign of it slowing down in terms of the rate of rise so we'll likely see that continue to rise into tomorrow."

Officials say heavy rainfall combined with ongoing snowmelt is contributing to the Liard River's rise.

Meanwhile, flood watches remain in place for:

• Shuswap/North Okanagan including the Shuswap River, Eagle River and surrounding areas.
• Upper Columbia including the Columbia River, Kicking Horse River and surrounding areas.
• Peace Region.
• Northern Rocky Mountains.