Village of Clinton lifts final evacuation alert linked to Pear Lake fire

“There were some slope stability issues, some debris flow issues that were in place because of the threat that heavy rain might bring to flooding,” Doddridge said. “Ultimately, it was exacerbated by the fact that Clinton Creek flows through an undersized CN culvert under the railroad tracks.”

“Since CN has made their improvements, the threat is no longer as significant.”

Doddridge says residents in that affected part of Clinton should remain aware of their evacuation routes, as he noted there is still a lot of mitigating work that needs to take place.

“In the short term, we no longer feel it’s as immediate of a threat that requires the evacuation alert to be in place,” Doddridge said. “We are prepared for the eventuality there may still be flooding or some issues coming down the line and we’ll do what we can to make sure people are informed.”

“We are also aware keeping an alert on for a long period of time can undermine the original intent of making sure people are aware and prepared.”

No houses were lost within village limits, though two commercial properties were. Doddridge says village officials are happy because there are no evacuation orders or alerts in effect, noting the focus can now shift from short-term recovery to medium-and-long-term recovery efforts.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done to get us back to normal,” Doddridge said.

“We’ll be working with our recovery manager to establish some new plans to think about how we’re going to be shifting our focus from those kind of immediate needs to more long-term needs for our residents and for our infrastructure.”

by Victor Kaisar

Village of Clinton lifts final evacuation alert linked to Pear Lake fire

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