Cache Creek residents on high alert as Bonaparte River erodes banks

CACHE CREEK, B.C. – The Bonaparte River, which runs through Cache Creek, is flowing at a rapid pace, eroding banks and threatening to cut off roadways.

“We’ve seen a lot of sloughing down along the Sandman (hotel), the trailer parks are really suffering,” said Wendy Coomber, communications director for the Cache Creek Emergency Operations Centre. “To the north of town we have a sewer line that is being undermined. We need to get some rip rap out there.”

The Village of Cache Creek is under a state of local emergency, and the River Forecast Centre has issued a flood watch for the Bonaparte.

“We issued an evacuation alert yesterday for roughly 275 properties, not only along the river, but also in one low-lying area near the river where they tend to have their basements flooding,” Coomber said.

Chloe Gravelle owns the Riverside Mobile Home Park. The high water has eroded the bank dangerously close to several units.

“We need rip rap from the post office, the bridge, right around the corner on both sides because all these tenants are going to lose their homes,” she said.

The flooding is also impacting farms in the Cache Creek area. Horsting’s Farm Market just finished planting its potato field, which now lies under water.

“We are a farm market,” said Market Manager Chelsey Nyuli, “so our homemade bread is made with the potatoes grown right here on the farm.”

Work is underway to stabilize the bank, but Nyuli says she’s never seen the river flow this fast.

“We generate most of our business in the summer and if this can’t get under control soon, then we may not have any crops,” she said.

There are also concerns about access. Crystal Laidlaw is a supervisor with Dawson Road Maintenance. She says crews have been patrolling the area.

“The Bonaparte River is really high,” Laidlaw said. “It’s forcing out above the river banks, so it’s eroding all the trees and causing problems on the highways and for people who live in the low zones.”

The Village of Cache Creek is hoping it won’t have to issue an evacuation order, but with the Bonaparte flowing at a 20-to-50-year rate, and the possibility of more rainfall, concern is mounting.