Emergency Funding Ends, But Emergency Continues

A local state of emergency continues in Lumby, but the village’s emergency response funding has been stopped by the province.

“The Village would like to extend its sincere gratitude to the Province for the swift response to resource requests, which included WFMB firefighters and helicopter surveillance, as well as the
many financial approvals that enabled the emergency response works,” says a village news release. “The emergency response works completed to date have protected critical municipal infrastructure and helped mitigate the risk to public safety.”

Helen Sinclair from the emergency operations centre says it’s a positive sign that creek levels are declining, and the danger is subsiding.

“It’s a turning point in so much that, we start looking now at, we’ve come this far, what needs to be done next? Is it clean-up? What remains to be done in order to protect the community?” says Sinclair.

Sinclair says 24 homes in Lumby remain on evacuation order, with another 80 on alert.

She says those notices and the state of emergency will be reviewed on Saturday to see they can be lifted.

The Village has been informed that Provincial assessment teams will be in the community within the next 24 hours attending properties impacted by the recent flooding.

The specific activities being performed by these teams is being clarified, and the Village will provide residents with more information as it becomes known.

Sinclair says the village can ask the province for more assistance should the creek levels rise again.

“And they are prepared to do that,” she adds.