Snow forecast has Peguis on edge

Preparations for another spring flood in Peguis First Nation ramped up Monday while residents feared a repeat of past disasters, and weather forecasters predicted additional precipitation later this week.

Dozens more people joined the effort to help fill sandbags, build dikes or set up temporary barriers around houses and other priority buildings or infrastructure that could be at risk in the Interlake community.

“I’m just worried right now. If they’re comparing this to 2022, I can’t see how our house isn’t directly in the flood zone,” said Rick Sutherland, who worked day and night to save his house from rising flood water four years ago.

Over the weekend, the Manitoba government increased the flood risk for Peguis and other Fisher River basin communities from moderate to high due to significantly above-normal snowpack, a delayed spring melt and an increased likelihood of rapid runoff combined with precipitation.

The province said peak flows are expected to be similar to those during the 2014 flood, but a faster melt could result in a flood comparable to 2022, when more than 1,000 Peguis residents were forced to evacuate.

In a video on social media, Chief Stan Bird said Sunday night that 225 homes require flood protection, including sandbags and Tiger Dams, which are water-filled barriers. Crews are also taking steps to prevent roads from being swamped.

The federal government deployed Team Rubicon to Peguis, about 180 kilometres north of Winnipeg, after the community requested help. The non-profit humanitarian organization’s volunteers include military veterans and retired first responders.

Jim Sutton, a Team Rubicon member and Winnipeg resident, said about a dozen volunteers joined sandbagging efforts Monday.

Almost 30 additional volunteers from the organization were expected to arrive Monday, he said from Peguis, while the group built its first sandbag dike around a house. More volunteers are expected to arrive Tuesday.

“We’re on the ground and we’re doing everything we can to save every one of these houses,” Sutton said.

The Manitoba government is delivering tens of thousands of filled sandbags to Peguis and nearby Fisher River Cree Nation, with some provided by the City of Winnipeg, a provincial spokesperson said.

More than 336,000 empty sandbags were sent to Peguis, Fisher River, Dallas, Red Nose and the rural municipalities of Bifrost-Riverton and Fisher.

Small sandbag-filling machines were sent to Peguis and the RM of Fisher.

Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor visited Peguis and Fisher River Monday.

“Our thanks go out to all those who have stepped up to offer assistance, including our federal counterparts who quickly responded to our request and deployed their resources,” Naylor said in a statement.

The Canadian Red Cross, which assisted the community in 2022, is helping to move supplies into position, including sandbagging equipment and flood barriers, a spokesperson said.

Red Cross personnel will help to fill sandbags, the spokesperson said.

There is also an increased risk of flooding in Parkland in western Manitoba, the province said.

Danielle Desjardins, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said colder temperatures and snow are expected in the Interlake and Parkland Thursday and Friday. It wasn’t certain Monday how much snow will fall.

“Some models have substantially less precipitation, but our Canadian model is hinting at possibly another 10 to 20 centimetres and possibly freezing rain in the Interlake,” Desjardins said. “That’s something we’re keeping an eye on, but the confidence right now is somewhat low.”

About 10-15 centimetres of snow could fall in the Dauphin and Riding Mountain National Park areas if the worst-case scenario pans out, she said.

Rain showers, freezing rain and snow flurries are possible in the Winnipeg area.

Flood water poured into Sutherland’s basement in Peguis in the spring of 2022. A Tiger Dam was set up around his house, where he operated about five pumps to drain water that infiltrated defences.

“That flood was crazy that year. It kind of threw us off how fast it came up,” Sutherland said.

He doesn’t know what this spring will bring, but he has asked the Peguis council to deliver a Tiger Dam to his home, which is about 180 metres from the Fisher River, in case it is threatened again.

Sutherland has started moving personal belongings out of his basement and sheds, which flooded in 2022. He said a Peguis employee used a skid-steer loader to move snow away from his home Sunday.

It’s now a matter of waiting for the snowpack to melt and watching the weather forecast, he said.

“You never know what the situation will turn out to be,” he said.

The province said the Fisher River basin’s snow water equivalent of about 113 millimetres is among the highest in recent years and nearly double the long-term average.

For years, Peguis has sought government funding for permanent flood protection measures. In 1907, the Crown ordered the First Nation to move from a settlement just north of Winnipeg to its current flood-prone location in an illegal land surrender.

Town of Arborg staff will begin filling sandbags Tuesday for residents to collect and use if they are concerned about their properties, Mayor Peter Dueck said.

The province said there is a high risk of flooding on the Icelandic River, which flows through the Interlake town. Arborg and the surrounding area experienced significant flooding in 2022.

“We’re apprehensive and hopeful,” Dueck said. “If we get lots of warm weather and lots of rain all at once, it will be serious.”

He said officials are watching for ice jams, which could cause flooding.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca