The BC River Forecast Centre is warning about rising waters on the Bonaparte River.
The river has risen by about 1.2 feet in the past four days, as temperature highs have been between 23 and 28 degrees Celsius in Cache Creek for five straight days.
Forecasters say the above-average temperatures have led to “significant snow melt” at lower to mid elevations.
Right now, the Bonaparte, which flows through Cache Creek and into the Thompson River in Ashcroft, is running at a level seen once every two years. Forecasters say it should continue to run at a once-in-two-year level for “the upcoming days.” Although the forecast also says the river could end up running higher than that, saying “due to the hydrological complexities of the lake systems upstream and lack of real-time data within the Bonaparte River watershed, there is uncertainty in the model forecast.”
According to Environment Canada’s weather station in Ashcroft, at this point, the temperature will hit 19 degrees today and 22 degrees tomorrow, and will be followed with highs between 15 and 20 degrees between Wednesday and Sunday. There is also a chance of showers for Wednesday and Thursday.
The public is asked to avoid the Bonaparte during freshet season, because of fast-flowing waters and potentially unstable riverbanks.
Last year, during the spring snow melt, the Bonaparte reached levels seen only every 20-to-50 years, according to hydrologists, and about 200 properties near the river were on evacuation alert for several days. In total, about 175 properties near the river were on evacuation alert three times last year: in late April, in late May and again in early July.
Experts and locals in the Cache Creek say the Elephant Hill wildfire from 2017 made soil in that area hydrophobic, meaning it can’t absorb water and runs off instead, which has led to damage in the watershed and flooding from higher-than-normal streams. Last year, it was determined that some sort of smoking materials caused the wildfire which burned more than 190,000 hectares.
(Note: This file photo was taken on April 25, 2020)
