Princeton dealing with breaks in water lines, little water services to residences amid flood damage, as evacuation alerts expand

Photo: Town of Princeton

UPDATE: 1:45 p.m.

Hundreds of homes in Princeton have been placed under evacuation alert, in addition to 295 properties that remain under evacuation order in the central part of town.

A news release from the town indicates the alert is "due to the ability to supply natural gas and safe drinking water."

Evacuation alerts are issued in order to give residents enough time to prepare should they need to leave.

Individuals in the alert area with limited mobility are recommended to self-evacuate.

Hotels are booked up in town, so anyone leaving is asked to consider making arrangements with family or friends if possible.

Register for Emergency Support Services here or call them at 250-273-0143.

Property owners should secure all valuables, and prepare sump pumps if susceptible to ground water seepage. Gather essential items like medications, papers, cell phone chargers and immediate care needs for dependents, and be prepared to leave should the alert change to an order.

Find the full list of properties under evacuation alert here.

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Photo: Contributed

Princeton on Monday.

UPDATE: 11:47 a.m.

The Town of Princeton Emergency Management operation is reminding the public who are evacuated that it is not safe to return to their homes at this time.

In an update on social media late Wednesday morning, they pointed to an erroneous CBC News broadcast banner that read residents can return to their homes to survey damage, but cannot stay.

"This is false information," emergency management wrote.

"No one who has been evacuated has been [given] the go ahead to return to your homes. Assessments need to be done first!"

Building assessors are beginning the lengthy work of assessing all buildings affected by the flood waters.

"Please allow them to do their jobs. Interrupting them, asking them questions etc. will only delay them in the work they are here to do."

Water remains shut off in parts of town as pumps are overheating, while crews work to repair damage to lines.

ORIGINAL: 10 a.m.

The Town of Princeton continues to fight to recover from devastating floods that began Sunday evening when the Tulameen River spilled over into town.

Much of the downtown area has lost water service again Wednesday morning, while crews work to isolate the problems.

"People are gonna lose their water pressure pretty quick here if they haven't already. And that's going to compound the problem, because we don't have any of our fire hydrants working. They actually haven't been working all night because we don't have enough pressure," Mayor Spencer Coyne explained.

"And so we'll have to be taking water from rivers and ponds and whatnot to to be able to do fire protection."

Crews are looking for holes in the water lines that were caused by the flooding, hoping to get those fixed to allow the reservoir to refill.

"But we will still be on a do not consume order. Because we've had infiltration from the river just due to the fact that those lines have broken open," Coyne said.

Temperatures dipped below zero Wednesday morning, an added concern for the community as power and heat continue to be spotty.

That, added to the fact that major trucking routes into town are blocked and grocery store shelves getting very bare, is a worrisome situation.

In total, 295 properties remain under evacuation order. And later in the week, more rain is in the forecast.

"So that is a concern. Yes. We haven't filled the holes yet," Coyne said.