Fort Chipewyan chief fears flooding could arrive soon

The chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in Fort Chipewyan, Alta., fears the recent flooding seen in Fort McMurray could arrive in his community of about 850 people in the next week.

Fort Chipewyan lies on the shores of Lake Athabasca, roughly 220 kilometres downstream from the Athabasca River that flows through Fort McMurray. It is also just south of the junction of the Peace River and the Slave River in northern Alberta. 

"Nobody calculated for the flood here in Fort Chip, and there could be a flood here in Fort Chip," Chief Allan Adam told CBC. "We're not too sure but all indications say that everywhere is rising water." 

Rising water levels on the Athabasca and Clearwater rivers near Fort McMurray has already forced thousands to evacuate. 

Flood could damage community airport 

Fort Chipewyan is a fly-in community during the summer months and is connected to Fort McMurray and Fort Smith, N.W.T., by ice road in the winter. Adam said high water levels could damage the community's airport, effectively cutting it off from the outside world. 

It is difficult to prepare for flooding in his community, Adam said, because it can be unpredictable. "The only thing we can do is watch," he said. 

Adam said he is monitoring the situation for now, and has been in touch with the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo. 

"Right now the municipality, their main concern is Fort McMurray," he said. "Fort Chip will be put on the radar very soon once Fort McMurray's been dealt with." 

Adam said he has already talked about building a berm to help stop the water into the community. 

The regional municipality did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  

Ice jam warning in effect for northern Alberta and parts of N.W.T.

At the same time, an ice jam is making its way east along the Peace River from Fort Vermillion, Alta., toward Fort Chipewyan. 

The ice jam warning for the Peace River extends through the entire Peace River Basin — from Fort Vermilion in the west to Wood Buffalo National Park in the north. 

That's because the Peace River connects to the Slave River just north of Fort Chipewyan, and flows downstream into Fort Smith, a community of roughly 2,600 that straddles the N.W.T-Alberta border. 

Fort Smith Mayor Lynn Napier said she is not concerned about flooding in her town. 

"We're quite far up from the river bank," she told CBC. 

Two areas near Fort Smith that have seen flooding in the past, Napier said, are the low-lying homes near Salt River First Nation and in the small community of Fort Fitzgerald, Alta. 

However, Napier said neither of these two areas have been brought up as a flood risk in meetings with the town's emergency management staff.

"All the flooding that's coming up is on the Peace-Athabasca which would go into Lake Athabasca before going up the Slave River," she said.  

Ivan Russell, the director of public safety with the N.W.T. Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, said they are watching the situation in northern Alberta — but their priority is still on high-risk flood zones in the territory.