The flood emergency in Canmore appears to be in a holding pattern and under control Friday evening (June 21) as crews continue to monitor the levels of the Bow River.
Mayor John Borrowman said at 6 p.m. the municipality’s emergency response is in a “pretty good holding pattern” for the moment and things appear to be under control.
With the river reaching its peak in Banff, Borrowman said that means Canmore will see the highest water levels in the next three to four hours “and that is pretty good news.”
“The Bow River, which has been growing in concern for us through the day, there are one or two places where it is getting close to spilling, but there are only a few places like that,” he said. “The other good news is the weather system has broken up.”
Cougar Creek levels have gone down, but crews are still monitoring the direction and flow of the waterway.
“Cougar Creek is still a problem, what has been happening through the course of this day is the channel keeps changing flow and direction and (crews) have responded each time by putting fill in the way and redirecting the flow pattern, so they have averted disaster in a couple locations today,” said the mayor. “Now for the most part, the creek is in what we think is its proper channel.
“There are still a lot of homes under threat. If the flow changes again that could eat into the banks still supporting some of those homes, but we are feeling a bit of relief.”
He said the situation will be reassessed early in the morning and the community can “start thinking about what comes next.”
Go to www.canmore.ca for current information on the state of emergency from the Town of Canmore.
