Monday: Work, Water & the Wardrobe

June 11th, 2007 Thomasso

You gotta love Mondays, the first day after the nice restful weekend. It seems terrifying that, for those who work in a 9 to 5, inside a 5 day work week, that we need to just jump back in with both feet, like going from zero to ninety in six seconds, and pick up where we left off from Friday. It’s just not fare. Well, I am not one of those people: so there! So I can’t really complain about work, because quite frankly, I like my job. I like the hours. I like the pay. I like the commute. Are you shocked? Well, you should be, because not everyone shares my enthusiasm you know. Yup, there are those who hate it so much that they live for complaining about it. And I know how they feel because I was once like them: I was never happy, and I hated everything about my old job that there was to hate about it–I was a bad-ass. Really.

Now, on a different topic, I took the video cam down to the river just a couple of hours ago and shot some footage of the flood. Today is the day that the river starts to level off and returns to normal. I wanted to shoot the highest point of the water level for this year, and I think I got it? I know that officially last night was the highest point, but I am factoring the high tide too. The shoots of the Albion Ferry are neat because you can see people driving “up” the ramp instead of down it–very unusual to see that happen. The Video is 38MB 24.6MB and is in DVIX4 (DVD mpeg/super compressed) format. Hope you like it.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8-_6h3TfaY[/youtube]

UPDATE-June 20th: I took the video off-line because I’m trying to upload it to U–Tube. Once done, I’ll re-link back to here.

For Psycho21, Herb_2000, Mark-ass, lopo_girl & NetChick: please click here to download the video directly. ***There are no college shots in this. *wink*

[Oooo. The video seems to be a hit as it has being viewed more than 34 times in the last 24 hours. I would like to hear some feedback on my creative "totally amateur work." Be nice....]

The wardrobe blues: My $300.00 jacket went missing last night. Sadly I fear it is gone forever. I went to a restaurant with some friends last night, and totally forgot about it on the chair. When I came back today to claim it, no one there remembered seeing it. Drats! [Update on the Jacket: Yes folks, the jacket is back with its rightful owner--me! I got a call back from the Dennys today, they asked me if I could claim it, then pick it up. One of the servers took it and put it in the "back room," she knew who it belonged to. So everything it good.] *Me Happy Again*

Posted in flood, General, Video | 2 Comments »

Humm: What’s Next?

June 9th, 2007 Thomasso

So, what does Mother Nature have next for us? The flood waters seem to be leveling off, which I can see clearly from my living room window, but the graph representing the Mission Gauge seems to suggest that too, but it shows that the water level is still creeping upwards little by little. Fort Langley has being spared yet again from the wrath of the mighty Fraser River. We all know that the high waters can come back just a quickly as they left. There is plenty of snow still covering the mountains, and we all know to well that lots of rain can ignite a flash flood coupled with a heat wave melting all that snow. So, we are not out of the woods yet.

The graph above shows the performance of the Fraser River during the last 3 days, indicating the “cresting” or leveling off of water volume flowing through the location in mission. Although the graph shows the water level still climbing, it is important to note that the rate of climb on this graph is less, meaning that the volume of water is remaining more constant than increasing, allowing the current mass of water to flow without over flowing onto the banks causing flooding. This is where the flood predictions are based upon: 1948 was over the 7 metre mark.

Posted in flood, General, Photographs | Comments Off

The Flood has being Postponed

June 7th, 2007 Thomasso

We’re sorry, the flood that was scheduled for this week has being temporarily postponed until further notice. The Flood will not occur as expected for this weekend, and will be moved back on the calendar to make way for other events planned…. What! For the love of… What the… You got to be kidding? Here I am, expecting the Fraser River to move up to my doorstep, waiting to take a couple of weeks off from work, and for what–to be let down once again. That is just great.

OK, so maybe not having the terror of flooding waters destroying homes and roads is a good thing, but rather something to rejoice about and blow a sigh of relief, but when you brace for it, prepare for it, and it does not happen, your nerves unravel. Mine unraveled. Now I sort of look at it as some sick satire on the This Hour Has 22 Minutes show: They have canceled the impending doom of destruction, please go home now you are not needed anymore, run along now, doom and destruction have being moved back to July 12–stay tuned for more information. I always thought that if the river upstream flooded, that would translate into a flood all the way down stream until the river dumps into the ocean? What happened? Is the process of evaporation that efficient that the river will loose most of its water before it gets here? Something is up–I smell something fishy around here.

Sadly, the town that I grew up in is not faring so well with flooding. The town of Terrace, BC is totally cut off and some people are being evacuated while the Skeena River serges upwards. It is common for that river to flood, like all other rivers, it has a seasonal cycle, but when it floods, it holds nothing back. Terrace does not have the diking/levy systems and dredging like we have down here in the Fraser Valley; it is built on the natural flood planes just as is was before man move in. Terrace even got its name from the “terraces” that formed from the Skeena’s different courses over the last millennium, scaring out the many planes along its shores along the valley. My heart goes out to those people. May the River not take anyone in its rage to the sea.

Posted in Bitching about weather, Diatribe, flood, General | Comments Off

Splish Splash: Water Front Land

June 5th, 2007 Thomasso

I always said I would have water front property one day, but I just didn’t think it would be in Fort Langley. The fear and shock of flooding is all the buzz, from the news papers to the sight outside my living room window, the water is, with out a doubt, getting higher. The flooding water is early this year, due in part to having such a snow filled winter this last season, and many predictions of how high and long it will last are all around.

I like how the British Columbia Emergency Service spews out measurements like: “the water level will reach 1.7 metres by June 7, and the dykes can withstand 1.8 metres….” Well, 1.8 from what? Where or what are you basing this on? It is really hard to get a visual of just how high that is in terms of where I live in Fort Langley. I wish they would put markers on the bridge, or in a public area, so that we all could see what the various levels are compared to other floods from the past. I would like to walk down to the river and see where we stand without guessing.

The good news is, workers are going along the shore-line clearing trees and brush, moving earth and rocks, getting ready for the higher water. They did a lot work on Bray/ McMillian Island, the little island that you travel over before you board the Albion Ferry on the Fort Langley side. If we pass the 1948 flood levels, than that chunk of real estate is going under for sure. Also, the Ferry announced today that a weight restriction of one ton per vehicle is now enforce for people boarding the it. Yup, it boils down to like what someone wrote on the gang-plank going onto the Ferry: “1 800-cal-Noah”

This just added [June 6, 2007] : Here is the website for the Mission Gauge, the place everyone talks about when measuring the performance of the Fraser River. Please note that it is part of Environment Canada, and is just a graph that shows the rise and fall of the water levels in real time. You need to agree to the “disclaimer” too before you can view the page. To view all other river systems in British Columbia, click here.

Posted in flood, General, Photographs | Comments Off

Move or Stay

May 16th, 2007 Thomasso

The flood and evacuation notices have being sent to everyone in Fort Langley, including the extra one taped to my door, and my thoughts now turn to what I’m going to do in the event that the river floods beyond 1948 flood levels. I do live high enough above the (estimated) water level that was reached back in 1948, so I know that my home will be untouched; however, what to do when this place becomes an island is another matter all unto itself. So far I have not heard anything that states the forceful removal of any residence on high ground, so I am a little confused as to what will actually happen if I decide to stay in home during the flood when an evacuation is given? One of the Old Timers who lived through the 1948 flood told me that the railway tracks where not completely submerged under the water, and that people kept on with their daily activities and used boats to get back and forth to the “main land.” This has got me thinking about borrowing a power boat for this experience if I stay?

I have started stocking up on food, water and survival gear. I think water and food are going to be the big needs to this event. I do not know what I will do when the power goes out for more than a week, the generator only has enough fuel for 126 hours of continuous operation. Getting to work may prove to be a challenge, so arrangements may be needed to find a solution to that problem. I am more worried about people looting and vandalizing my personal property than anything else, so keeping an very close eye on my home is a top priority. Oh, and I found out that in most circumstances, my home insurance is totally useless! I’m fine if my home burns down to the ground because of fire, but not if it floats away in a flood and sinks? Go figure eh….

Posted in Bitching about weather, Diatribe, flood, General, Photographs | 2 Comments »

Clear as Mud

May 12th, 2007 Thomasso

These are some photos I took of the Fraser River, at Fort Langley, around 2:00pm local time. Since I seen it last week, the river has definitely shown signs of the spring run off now, especially the colour of the water: muddy brown. With the nice warm weather, and being the weekend, there were lots of people out and about in town, most were not too concerned with the water level at the river. However, I could see lots of evidence of recent construction done alone the riverbanks to control the possible flood.

I walked down to the river today to see how high the water was getting, and to my surprise, it has risen about 60cm since I last did my observation. Remember that Fort Langley is still within the tidal-zone, so it could of being high tide also? Anyway, the river was typical muddy, which is normal this time of year, so it is a wait and see whether that big flood will happen this year.

About these photos… The six photos above are all taken from the McMillian Island side of the Bedford Canal, looking South. The bridge that you see is part of Glover Road, the same road that connect you to the Albion Ferry to get to Maple Ridge, crossing the Main part of the Fraser River. The part of the river that see in these photos is only one third of the total volume of the Fraser River. The photo below is the map at the corner of Glover road and Mavis street, that shows the layout of where Fort Langley is. This map should give you an idea of how everything is laid out. By the way, I live about one block away from this spot!

Posted in flood, General, Photographs | Comments Off

High Times in the Valley

May 11th, 2007 Thomasso

There is a lot of fuss about gas and water in my little corner of the world. It is currently 21C outside (observed by my kitchen window thermometer), that is roughly 70-ish Fahrenheit for those who have no idea what the “C” stands for, and there is a flurry of activity among the neighbours around me because of it. What will the next eight weeks bring us for weather, and gasoline, as we peer into our crystal ball?

This morning, as I was driving around getting the week raped-up I saw the gas-station at 232nd Street and Highway 1 proudly displaying its cost of a Litre of gas: $1 & 27.7, or $1.28 per Letre! The thought of almost buying an SUV last year crept up from the back of my mind and sent a shiver up my spine as I seen a loan occupant in a very large, dual-wheeled pick-up, fully loaded, fueling up. As I pulled up to get my windshield cleaned from all the bugs spattered on it, I read his cost from the fuel pump; he had racked up a total fuel bill of $249.00, filling it right up–both tanks. Good on you buddy–hope gas prices climb higher, like $2.00 a Litre.

Talk of the pending flooding of the Fraser River is now front page news. My little town of Fort Langley should do well as we are on high enough ground; however, in the event of “the 200 year Flood,” we would become an island. The local news paper said that we would be fine, but our electricity, water and gas would be unreliable (Langley Times). The conditions for a once-in-a-200-year flood are ripe. Record snow packs up in the mountains farther inland are the key concern. Still very cool weather throughout the interior of British Columbia, and nice hot sunny weather predicted for the next few weeks, all of these factors are the ingredients for very bad flooding this season. So, the question of whether I should stay, or enjoy a possible extra long vacation, must be concentrated? I always wanted to spend a vacation on an island somewhere, I just didn’t think it would be possible to stay at home to see it!

Posted in Bitching about weather, flood, General | Comments Off

Flood Alert: Possibly?

April 26th, 2007 Thomasso

I was told yesterday that I should have a flood evacuation plan ready for the up coming flood season, usually for the month of June. That made me stop an think because even in the last “Really Big Flood” of (1948???) where I live, the water never reached this level, but caused Fort Langley to become one large island surrounded by water from the Fraser River. So, it would seem that what is being predicted could be far more devastating that what happened in the 1940s. I do live on land that is quite high up from the current river level; however, my elevation is only about 5 metres above the mean level of the river.

But in the 1940s, three things happened that made that flood unprecedented. First my location along the river puts me well within the estuary, another words, we do see tides from the pacific ocean, but only very slight in terms of changes in water level. So if there is a really high tide during the cresting of the river, that would cause levels to increase by several centimetres. Second, there of course would be the snow packs themselves up in the mountains, that, along with super warm weather would cause a massive sudden melt, increasing the runoff to simultaneously occur. Lastly, as it did in the 1948 flood, a very large spring storm, something like the Pineapple Express, where high winds, lots of rain: all this pushing from the West. So these are warning signs.

Today I put into place an action plan, that in the invent I may need to evacuate, I would have somewhere to go and protect my personal property. Following the guide lines that the Disaster Response Program in BC suggested, I have an emergency kit, and an evacuation plan in the even that I need to relocate. It is such an sobering thought to have being told that a possible flood could occur and that even after sixty years of dyke and levy work along the shores, floods could still paralyze the Fraser Valley.

Posted in Bitching about weather, flood, General | Comments Off