As the emergency situation in Canmore continues to develop on Friday (June 21), municipal officials are urging residents of the community to stay where they are unless they need supplies.
Town of Canmore spokesperson Sally Caudill said the evacuation orders in east Cougar Creek remain in effect and residents are not allowed back into the area yet. She also urged citizens to stay away from the creek and the Bow River, as its levels began to rise Friday morning.
“We still need people to stay away,” Caudill said. “It is a huge issue for us — people are going to look at the creek and it is really diminishing our resources and our ability to get things done in other places.”
Supplies were brought in overnight for both grocery stores in the downtown, she added.
Overnight and into Friday afternoon, the levels of Cougar Creek appeared to be stable with crews working on debris in the channel upstream of Elk Run Boulevard and near the CP Rail tracks.
But it was the water level of the Bow River that began to cause the most immediate concern, with the provincial government issuing overland flooding warnings around noon.
Alberta Emergency Alert reported at noon that the Bow River basin received 250 mm of precipitation since Wednesday morning (June 19) and the river levels are rising in response.
“There is a large amount of water travelling across land. This is leading to localized flooding. The areas around the Bow River and its tributaries have reached dangerous flooding levels,” read the alert.
The Canadian military is also being deployed to flood affected areas like Canmore and Kananaskis. Each local district remains in charge of the management of the emergency operations and military personnel are in place to assist where needed.
Caudill noted the overwhelming response from the community over email and by phone to help and volunteer and said it is incredibly appreciated.
“When we get through the emergency there is going to be a lot for everybody to do, so right now people need to take care of themselves and the immediate people around them and stay out of the way and hopefully soon we will be able to start calling on people to help us and we are going to need a lot of help,” she said.
For up to date information from the Town of Canmore go to www.canmore.ca and follow the Rocky Mountain Outlook on Facebook and Twitter for breaking news as the situation develops.
