By Sheena Roszell

Grovedale Fire Chief advises people to stay off the Wapiti

Apr 30, 2018 | 5:40 PM

Local rivers are moving at rapid speeds and hauling debris as the spring thaw is underway.

Grovedale Fire Department Chief Shawn Clarke is advising people to stay away from the Wapiti River for the time being as conditions can become very dangerous, very quickly.

“With this volume of water, it’s extremely dangerous as far as what’s underneath the water, what’s in the water and even the sides of the river,” explained Clarke.

He says when conditions are like this, it’s even too dangerous for rescue crews to go on the river. They’d have to do a shoreline rescue.

“If there’s an ice-jam, you can have flash flooding downstream if that ice-jam let go or there’s one that builds up, then water levels can change dramatically.”

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Clarke says people should stay off the river and the side banks until the water recedes.