Whiteshell flood damage 'devastating,' homeowner says

Grant Fisette's home is in a precarious situation after the weekend downpour in the Whiteshell caused flooding and a landslide on his property.

On Monday, the park office said most of the roads are down to one lane of traffic after weekend flooding and vehicles are moving very slowly as crews work on repairs. Ingolf Road remained closed and South Shore Road is one-lane traffic.

Rushing water spreads over Highway 44 (Courtesy: Grant Fisette)

8 years ago

Duration 0:53

Grant Fisette's home is in a precarious situation after the weekend downpour in the Whiteshell caused flooding and a landslide on his property.

The province recommended people along parts of the Manitoba-Ontario border pack up and temporarily leave the area after torrential rains washed out a few major roads and threatened to do the same to others on Friday night.

More heavy rain Saturday night created gaping holes on roads in West Hawk Lake and Falcon Lake, and on Sunday, the province again urged people to exit the area.

Park office staff said they are encouraging people to stay off the roads if possible to allow crews to get the work done. 

• Whiteshell highways flooded, province urges homeowners to leave
• Province urges evacuation after rains wash out roads in Whiteshell

Fisette's home is on Caddy Lake, about 140 kilometres east of Winnipeg. The lake has risen so much that by Monday morning, there was 56 centimetres of lake water on the highway, he said.

The water caused a landslide near his home that carried trees into the lake, he said.

"Right beside our home we have a fairly steep bank that goes into the lake and, from the amount of rain we had, a landslide event that actually pushed the trees and the whole forest," Fisette said. "It went out in the lake, almost 100 feet. There's actually trees standing in the lake."

Fisette, the deputy chief of the fire department, responded to a call on Friday night. When he got home at about 3 a.m., on Saturday the land was soaked but fine. When he woke up at 9 a.m., all of the ground beside his home was gone and Fisette thought, "Wow, what's next?"

"When I originally built [the house], I put steel piles into the bedrock. That's the only reason it's still there," Fisette said. "I'm not sure whether it's going to be compromised in any way after this because we can't even get equipment in to do any work to try to shore up beside it."

On Saturday, Environment Canada said there was flooding in the West Hawk Lake area — Caddy Lake is just north of West Hawk — after about 136 millimetres of rainfall. There was also 104 millimetres of rain just east of Killarney, southwest of Winnipeg.

Highway 312 was flooded and closed at Caddy Lake, while Highway 307 was washed out near the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks between Brereton Lake and Rennie, Man.

The Mantario Trail remains impassable and the McGillivray Falls trail has "major washouts" near Caddy Lake, the province said.

"It's just devastating.… I've lived all my life in the Whiteshell … and I've never seen anything like this. It's just unbelievable," Fisette said.

Fisette said he measured the lake and it has risen over 165 centimetres in three days.

Although some of the water on the highways has receded, some roads are closed and properties remain at risk, Fisette said.

On his block, he is sandbagging at Green Bay Resort because their water treatment plant is about to go under water, he said.

"It's just crazy," Fisette said, adding he hopes the area will be declared eligible for natural disaster relief.