Evacuees from Cache Creek coming to Kamloops for emergency support

May 10, 2023 | 4:08 PM

KAMLOOPS — As residents are forced from their homes in Cache Creek due to the rising waters on the Bonaparte River, they are being directed to come to Kamloops. In Kamloops, emergency support services (ESS) are set up at the McArthur Island Sports Complex, welcoming in the evacuees and helping get them set up for their stay in the city.

Dan Hillyard and his wife were just sitting down to dinner Tuesday night (May 9) when they got an evacuation notice on their phones. Living right next to the dike in the Sage and Sands Trailer Park, they were prepared to leave quickly. He stated the river came up 4-to-6 inches in 12 hours before they left.

“We were just going to sit down for supper and have a bite to eat before we head back out do more dike inspections and the alarm goes off. We packed up and got everybody ready to go. Loaded up our travel trailer and made sure that everybody who was leaving the park left the park,” said Hillyard.

The Hillyards have lived in Cache Creek for more than 30 years, and have seen the river rise before. Their home was even evacuated back in 2017 — but that was due to wildfire, not flood.

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“This is the first spring when we have been evacuated because of the river coming up so fast. This is different. This isn’t like 2017 when we were evacuated because the fire was getting close. This was because the river was getting to a dangerous level. And its the right thing to do, get the heck out of there,” said Hillyard.

They arrived in Kamloops Tuesday night to stay with family in the Kamloops region.

Natasha Hartman with the City of Kamloops confirmed that approximately 15 families attended the ESS site last night. Some of the expenses covered for evacuees include accommodation, food and other incidentals.

“They will come in and they do an interview with a volunteer and we assess their needs, and then the volunteers will approve their expenses that way,” said Hartman, Community and Emergency Supports Supervisor.

The Hillyards plan to say for a few days in Kamloops with family before attempting to move back closer to their home in Cache Creek.

“We are looking at staying here a couple of days and then head back to the Cache Creek, Ashcroft area, try to see if we can find a campsite for our travel trailer. Just to be a little closer if we need to help out, sandbagging or whatever else needs to be done,” said Hillyard.

by Michael Reeve

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Evacuees from Cache Creek coming to Kamloops for emergency support

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