May 18, 2017
Evacuation order rescinded
Late yesterday, probably the same time that I was doing yesterday’s two photo posts, our evacuation order was rescinded. The flood evacuation was over but we were cautioned to be aware of increasing lake levels due to the impeding snow melt. That snow melt by the way is 147% above the normal 100%. We had been officially evacuated for ten nights and late yesterday we were expected to go home.
Every year by mid to end of June our lake rises at least half way up to our patio or more, often closer to the patio level. This is the natural spring run off which has not even commenced yet. We are in no hurry to rush home. I have no intention of being evacuated twice.
Colin was off this morning to Vancouver for two days work so I decided to head back home to evaluate the situation. We had heard that the lake had been slowly receding. Most folks are encouraged but we are realistic. Besides once Colin gets back from Vancouver he has a full day shoot at Silver Star on Sunday and yet another full day shoot in Kelowna on Tuesday. We really don’t have time to pack up, head home and take two days to unload.
The forecast for the next several days is heat which means melting. We are being cautioned to be on alert in case of rising water. Much better for us to remain where we are for another week and to assess the situation day by day and then decide when or if to move back.
The only road to our park is now heavily sandbagged but I noticed that the lake was level to the road with just a tiny bit of water seeping under the sand bags.
On the bulletin board just as you enter our park.
A sign at the entrance to our street. When we left I had asked for some sort of restriction of traffic as the lookyloos were causing huge waves which were going under our home.
Apparently as I walked into our yard I frightened a pair of ducks and a pair of geese off our site. The amount of their poop on our lawn and patio would fill a huge pail.
So yes the water has receded at least for now, but what a mess.
We even have large logs left on our site.
I took photos from a few angles and focused on various locations so that we could monitor the decline or rise of the water.
Yes that is an egg on our patio.
It appears to be a goose egg from what I gather.
The debris is made up of many different materials.
Bit by bit over the past few days the water has been receding. As of today the lake level is lower than the patio by perhaps three inches.
Yesterday I did post the worst photos of the flood. I had heard that the lake was receding but wanted a record here in my blog of what had happened and how high it had risen.
What a mess! The lawn is also strewn with the poop of many fowl.
I think that we shall go back again on Saturday to further evaluate the situation.
As well we shall note whether the lake has risen or fallen.
I did not check under the house as I wanted Colin to be there for that moment. So right now we have no idea if we have any damage although it appears unlikely.
This was taped to the front of our door, a welcome home of sorts but really more of a warning in my opinion. Boil drinking water, don’t move your sandbags and if you don’t have any, get some, get an electrician to turn on your electricity. It appears that ours was never shut off.
So when we do decide to return home we have a huge amount of work ahead of us. First we have to unload the entire RV which includes our full office. We of course have to clean off the lawn and patio. Likely the basement will require power washing from one end to the other.
Then we have to go through all of the bins that Colin brought up from the basement, these are about half of what is in the house at the moment. No sense putting them all back under the house if many of them are garbage.
So it is a big job to head back home and we refuse to do it if we decide that it is not safe. Whether we return sooner or later, either way we have a good deal of work ahead of us.
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Not good news yet. Smart to stay put. That egg is awesome and I love your pink toes. 😉
I’m sure your brain is going in all sorts of directions as to what tasks to accomplish first. I know it is easy for me to say, but try not to let those jobs overwhelm you. Thank goodness all the strong teenage boys will be out of school for the summer; they will be in big demand with summer jobs helping people get back to normal and doing a lot of the physical work. If you have not already thought of that, I would hire one immediately before the local population grabs them all for the summer. They will be thankful for the job and the pocket money.
So happy to see that most of your home appears visually undamaged although I am sure there will be unfortunate surprises. Did they cut the power? You may need a new fridge (don’t want that to be a nasty surprise, best to be prepared for it). I really hope that that is the last of the high water for you and the two of you can get to the cleanup phase. The geese are unsure where the lake ends and your yard begins apparently 🙂 They will next be taking over the world
It looks like your crawl space came through undamaged but it may be quite wet under there. You might want to buy a large box fan to leave running under there for a few days. maybe have a couple of vents cut in the walls to allow for circulation. Lots of cleanup work! 🙁
Happy to hear that besides the mess in your yard your house remained intact. What a relief for you I am sure. I guess on the positive side you will be getting rid of stuff you have been hanging on to. One day at a time!
The photo of “the debris is made up of many different materials” is quite awesome. I kept going back to it over and over and would see something new each time – that is a keeper for sure. The clean up that you first saw must have been overwhelming for you but bit by bit it will all get done.
All I can say is “Oh my!!” What a mess… Crapola!!!