City deactivates Emergency Operations Centre as river levels stabilize, yet remain high

KAMLOOPS — The City of Kamloops deactivated its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in response to the high-water threat.

According to Greg Wightman, the utility services manager for the city, the threat of flooding from freshet is unlikely. However, the North and South Thompson Rivers will remain high for the foreseeable future.

While the city is deactivating the EOC, they will remain on alert in case a significant weather event should roll through the region.

“We’re not out of the woods here, yet. We’re going to have to remain very vigilant over the next couple of weeks, as the river is still very high,” Wightman says. “They’re not going to drop quickly like we’ve seen in years past – quite susceptible to rain events, but not going to peak past what we saw on [June] 25.”

Wightman acknowledged it’s rare for the water to remain this high, this far into the summer. He says the city plans to keep boat launches closed for the time being, as the river needs to drop at least a foot before they can reopen.

“To be well into July and still have the rivers at this level, it’s very unusual. I know it’s causing some frustration with the public, and we all want to be out enjoying the river. Unfortunately, we’re just not at the levels to be opening boat launches, just yet, and we may not be for a while. The rivers are not projected to start declining, they’re going to stay very stable. That decline we typically see after a peak is going to be very, very slow this year.”