About 300 rural Central Albertans were given evacuation notices on Wednesday as the rain-bloated Red Deer River began spilling over some roads southwest of Sundre.
The 74 acreage owners in South McDougall Flats were advised to seek alternative shelter with friends or family members, or go to an emergency shelter at Olds College, said Andrew Wild, communication co-ordinator for Mountain View County.
Along with their neighbours in the nearby Coyote Creek resort, about 300 people in total were given evacuation advisories, estimated Wild.
The rising Red Deer River began overflowing its banks on Wednesday afternoon and “rolling over” low-lying Rural Roads 55, 60 and 61 near the South McDougall Flats subdivision, he added. “We’ve been very busy, needless to say, with all staff being up on alert, monitoring the Red Deer River around Sundre.”
Some 30-100 mm of precipitation fell over 48 hours along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.
As a result, Alberta Environment put the Red Deer River basin upstream of the Dickson Dam on flood watch alert earlier in the day. Flood watch is not as serious as the flood warning that was issued by the province for the rapidly rising Little Red Deer River, which was expected to peak late this evening and into Friday morning.
But Wild said the situation at South McDougall Flats is still serious because the low rural subdivision is almost at the same level as the Red Deer River, so any amount of spillover could cause a problem.
Mountain View County officials were hoping the Red Deer River would subside later on Wednesday as the additional water flows northward and downstream.
Two campground near the Little Red Deer River were closed because of rising waters. Wild said this includes the Water Valley Campground and its access roads, RR 52 and 54 north of Secondary Highway 579, which were barricaded to traffic on Wednesday morning.
As well, year-round recreational vehicles at the Westward Ho campground were being relocated to the nearby Bergen gravel pit, which is on higher land, off Township Road 320.
Livestock owners near the Little Red Deer River were also being advised to move their animals to higher ground as staff from Mountain View County’s operations department monitored roads in the area for possible flooding.
High rainfall caused a number of provincial parks and recreational areas to be closed to the public until further notice. These are Red Lodge Provincial Park, west of Bowden, and the Crescent Falls and Snow Creek recreation areas west of Rocky Mountain House and off Hwy 11.
Campers with reservations at affected sites will have their fees refunded. More information is available on www.albertaparks.ca.
Alberta Environment put out high stream flow advisories on Wednesday for various provincial river systems, including the North Saskatchewan River and its tributaries upstream of Rocky Mountain House, tributaries of the Red Deer River upstream of the Dickson Dam and the Red Deer river downstream of Dickson Dam.
No major flooding was expected in these basins, but minor flooding in low-lying areas was possible. Anyone walking near these rivers and streams is advised to be cautious.
No significant rain is expected today.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com