Heavy Rainfall Response
December 6, 2023
In response to the heavy rainfall City of Fernie crews are out in full force. They are being kept busy across operations working on various issues as they arise.
You’ll have seen our team peeling slush from roads and opening drains to help prevent localized flooding. This is challenging work, with slush moving around with the flowing water and re-blocking drains in some areas.
West Fernie is experiencing more localized flooding than other areas and we have our teams actively working on clearing material and opening blocked drains. We’ve got all hands on deck and have called out additional staff to help with this work. Crews are fully assigned and responding in order of priority.
The heavy rainfall has caused water levels to rise substantially in Coal Creek, but are still below levels that trigger any action in the City’s Flood Response Plan. We continue to actively monitor and are ready to respond if levels continue to rise.
If you haven’t already, sign up for emergency notifications through the RDEK Voyent public alerting system. This is the best way to make sure you are quickly notified during an emergency: https://ca.voyent-alert.com/vras/client.html#!/registration
If you are experiencing property damage from flooding, you should contact your insurer, who can start a claim. The City is not able to start claims for property owners, but we are prepared to work directly with insurers. The sandbag self-fill station remains open for residents next to the Operations Yard on Railway Ave.
How can you help? Check in on your neighbours, and if you are able to safely clear a drain of slush or debris we appreciate the assistance.
