B.C.'s parliamentary secretary has been touring the Okanagan-Similkameen to take stock of damage done by floods, and assess the ongoing threat.
Jennifer Rice first visited in early May when Regional District flood operations were in full swing. On Sunday, Rice returned, and visited hard-hit areas.
Rice visited newly installed gabion dams along Okanagan Lake, which John Davies, Field Incident Commander for the Emergency Operations Centre, explained are an environmentally friendly option compared to sandbags, as they can be re-used.
RIce also toured a site at Red Wing Estates on Penticton Indian Band land to see Tiger dams in use, which were installed as part of a partnership between the band and the Natural Resource and Fire Department.
“The objective of the training partnership was twofold,” said Dawn Russell, communications coordinator for the PIB. “We were able to fortify an area on our lands that is prone to flooding and train members in the best practices for installation. Once trained, they can be dispatched where needed in the Okanagan, train others and ensure installations are consistent and perform to the highest level.”
Rice completed her tour in Twin Lakes, where Canadian Armed Forces members are hard at work creating a sandbag wall to protect residents.