City of Chilliwack says Abbotsford dike breach has been repaired, lifts evacuation alert

Abbotsford dike breach repaired Abbotsford's mayor says breaches in the Sumas River dike have been sealed, but there's still more work to do.

Vancouver — The City of Chilliwack says the breach in the Sumas River dike in Abbotsford has been repaired, and that it's able to lift an evacuation alert for Chilliwack residents near the Abbotsford border as a result.

In a news release Sunday, Chilliwack said it had lifted the alert for Yarrow and Majuba hill "after carefully monitoring the flood situation in Abbotsford."

Nine properties remain on evacuation order due to continued localized flooding, however. Those properties are:

"Several positive factors have led to the City’s decision to rescind the evacuation alert," Chilliwack said in its release.

"At 4 a.m. on Nov. 21, the City of Abbotsford was able to stop the flow of water through the Sumas dike breach. With closure of the dike breach and the continued operation of Abbotsford’s Barrowtown pump station, water levels have begun to slowly recede."

Abbotsford has not publicly announced the status of work to repair the breached dike. Mayor Henry Braun is scheduled to address the flooding situation in a news conference at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Chilliwack said city staff will continue to monitor the situation and advise of any changes to the evacuation situation.

“Chilliwack is a caring community and it has been great to see everyone come together to help each other during this time,” said Ken Popove, Chilliwack's mayor, in the release.

“The safety of our residents is paramount. We continue to monitor the situation and we are prepared in the event anything changes.”

The city said livestock that has been evacuated from the Yarrow neighbourhood can now return home.

"Vedder Mountain Road, west of Cultus Lake Road, will be closed starting at 7 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 22 for culvert installation, slope stabilization, and urgent road reconstruction due to the recent landslide," the city said. "Please use Keith Wilson Road to access Yarrow."