Behind the Scenes of River Break-up

It’s a beautiful spring day in Peace River, with no chance of ice jams in the forecast.

 

Now that things have settled, we wanted to share a bit about what was happening behind the scenes over the past several weeks.

 

In early March, we started working with the Province, River Forecasting Centre, and other partners as it became clear that higher-than-normal snowpack this winter could increase the risk of flooding during spring break-up.

 

We launched a public information campaign across social media, radio, digital ads, and print to help residents understand the risks and be prepared. This covered both preparing your homes for melt impacts and readying yourselves in case action would be required during break-up.

 

Public Works crews played a large role in our preparation and response. Leading up to break-up, they managed drainage issues, opened storm gates, performed night watches of the river, prepared sandbags, and steamed culverts. We also had great support from contractors, who staged equipment and addressed debris to mitigate issues on Pat's Creek in the lead-up. We ordered additional flood gear and equipment, including water gates, and prepared it in the case of a larger event.

 

As break-up approached, we met more frequently. By the week of April 20, it was truly all hands on deck. Staff from across the organization were pulled into emergency roles, working alongside provincial agencies, emergency services, and community partners.

 

As conditions escalated, we activated our Incident Command System and formally established an Incident Command Post at the town office. Pat Fisher, normally our Director of Infrastructure and Development, stepped into the role of Incident Commander, leading teams involved in operations, planning, logistics, and finance/administration.

 

At the same time, we had crews in the field preparing for the possibility of evacuation. A reception centre was set up and staffed, ready to open if needed. While the evacuation alert was in place for the Heart River, we already had staff waiting to act and assist if it progressed into an evacuation order. Equipment was staged and ready for response Downtown.

 

Public Works, fire crews from both Peace River and Weberville, RCMP, and many other staff and partners worked long hours monitoring conditions, preparing infrastructure, and staying ready to act. Search and rescue volunteers from Grande Prairie, Greenview, and Red Earth went door-to-door with our fire crews in affected areas to make sure residents were alerted to the conditions.

 

Inside the office, we could feel the pressure. We watched live footage of the Heart River while directing resources and response efforts, preparing for any possibility. Several staff slept in the office, making sure they were ready to act at a moment’s notice.

 

At the peak of the response, approximately 94 people were actively involved in the incident within the Town’s emergency structure. The Province had at least a dozen personnel deployed to support monitoring, coordination, and technical expertise, alongside other agencies managing their own operations.

 

For many staff, this meant long days, often 16 to 18 hours, in a high-pressure, fast-changing environment. Some of us had been through emergencies before; for others, this was all new. Behind the scenes, there was an immense amount of coordination taking place to keep Peace River and our residents safe.

 

We’re incredibly proud of the professionalism and effort shown by everyone involved. We’re extremely thankful to our neighbours, the Province, search and rescue, and other partners for your assistance in seeing us through this event, including Northern Sunrise County for sharing staff resources to help fill key roles and support the response. We also appreciate the support offered at the provincial level, including outreach from the Minister of Municipal Affairs, along with the many agencies who stepped up throughout the event.

 

We’re also grateful to the community. Your patience, preparedness, and willingness to follow updates made a huge difference during a stressful and uncertain time. It was not easy for anyone, ourselves included, as the threat of flood seemed to hit a crescendo the night of April 23. Residents can rest assured that the only thing on our minds was the safety of our community, and we were working full-throttle to do everything we could.

 

In the coming weeks, we’ll be completing a full debrief and after-action review to capture what worked well and where we can improve. There are always lessons to learn, and we identified many along the way.

 

For now, thank you to everyone who played a role: staff, partners, and residents alike.