RECAP: Hwy. 1 partially reopens, more rain on the horizon after B.C. flood

Floodwaters have overwhelmed Highway 1 in Abbotsford, plunging the community into the kind of chaos they know all too well.

Highway 1 through Abbotsford partially reopened Saturday evening as floodwaters continued to slowly recede after this week’s atmospheric river.

While the situation is improving, there’s a chance that improvement will be short-lived, as the forecast calls for more storms on Sunday and Monday.

Here’s a recap of Saturday’s developments.

6:15 p.m. Hwy. 1 opens westbound

The westbound lanes of Highway 1 between No. 3 Road and Sumas Way are now open to travelers.

Lanes heading east remain closed due to standing water and crews will reassess the situation at first light, according to DriveBC.

In a video update, Sgt. Paul Walker noted that the offramp and onramp at Whatcom Road are still closed.

3 p.m. New drone video

CTV News Vancouver’s Jordan Jiang was in Abbotsford on Saturday and gathered new aerial video of the ongoing flood devastation. Watch the raw video below.

2 p.m. Some roads reopening

The City of Abbotsford says some roads that were previously closed due to flooding have reopened.

These include Bateman, Clayburn, Gladwin and Old Yale Roads, though the city advises motorists to watch for pooling on Clayburn and Old Yale. The westbound lanes of South Parallel Road have also reopened, but only to local traffic, the city said in a social media post.

The big prize—Highway 1—remains closed, as do all of the roads in the evacuation order area.

12:40 p.m. Photos show Highway 3 repairs

B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation and Transit and its contractors have been sharing photos of the damage Highway 3 suffered during the recent storm and their ongoing efforts to repair it. This gallery shows some of the work.

The route remains closed between Hope and Manning Park. Traffic between Princeton and Manning Park is being limited to local motorists only.

• Read more: No reopening timeline for Hwy. 3 as crews repair 23 different storm damage sites

12:15 p.m. New high streamflow advisory

The B.C. River Forecast Centre has issued a new high streamflow advisory for the entire B.C. coast and Vancouver Island ahead of the coming string of storms.

“Active weather over the next seven to 10 days is expected to create a prolonged period of heightened flood hazard across the B.C. coast,” the agency said.

“Heavy rain on Sunday and Monday are expected to lead to high streamflow on Monday and into Tuesday. Increased hazard in areas impacted by last week’s storms can be expected.”

High streamflow advisories are the river forecast centre’s lowest warning level. They indicate that “river levels are rising or expected to rise rapidly, but that no major flooding is expected.”

The Sumas River remains subject to a flood warning, which means flooding is imminent or ongoing.

12:10 p.m. ‘We’re still at the mercy of the U.S.’

Corry Spitters has seen this all before.

“It’s very much a repeat of what we had in ’21,” the farmer told CTV News Channel on Saturday.

• Read more: ‘We’re still at the mercy of the U.S.’: Abbotsford farmer sees difficult road to preventing future floods

10:30 a.m. ‘Rapid damage assessments’ underway

The City of Abbotsford says it’s working on its “return home plan” for the 460 properties that remain on evacuation order Saturday.

In an update, the city said it has begun “rapid damage assessments” with the support of Canada Task Force 1, the Vancouver-based heavy urban search and rescue team.

“These assessments advise whether or not the structure of a home is safe to re-enter or if additional work is required before it is safe to do so,” the city’s update reads.

“Each home will have a placard on the door to advise them of their assessment results and where to call for additional support should it be required. These are an important step in determining when evacuation orders can be lifted.”

According to the city, overflow water is still coming across the border from the Nooksack River, but the amount is slowly decreasing and the water level is slowly receding.

The 460 evacuation orders include 82 properties in Huntingdon Village, 371 in Sumas Prairie West and seven north of Highway 1, the city said. Those numbers are unchanged from Friday.

An additional 1,069 properties in Sumas Prairie East and West remain on evacuation alert, and the city’s interactive map shows their locations. (The image below is static. Click the link for the interactive version.)

9:55 a.m. 2 rescued overnight

In a video update posted on social media Saturday morning, Abbotsford Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Paul Walker urged people to stay off the city’s roads and respect closures.

“Last night, we had two individual drivers that decided to drive around road closure points and, essentially, sink their vehicles into the water, requiring them to be rescued,” Walker said, in the video.

“It’s important to respect those road closures for the safety of not only yourself, but first responders.”

9:30 a.m. Minimal precipitation expected today

A special weather statement remains in effect for the Fraser Valley, despite “minimal precipitation” expected on Saturday.

“Another system will move into the area tonight and persist into Sunday, followed by a potentially significant push of moisture Monday and into early next week,” Environment and Climate Change Canada said in its statement.

“Rainfall amounts are currently uncertain but warnings will be issued as necessary in the upcoming days.”

The additional precipitation coming in the next few days will also contribute to “an increased risk of landslide activity” across the already saturated region, the weather agency said.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Kaija Jussinoja