UPDATE: Around 184 people rescued by water and air in Abbotsford overnight

(UPDATE: Nov. 17 @ noon) - Some Abbotsford residents affected by the major Sumas Prairie flooding are able to return home this afternoon.

The City of Abbotsford rescinded the evacuation order for a handful of properties on the west side of the affected area.

That includes Huntington Village and the area west of Sumas Way between the United States border and Lonzo Road.

While residents are allowed to return home, the area remains under an evacuation alert due to the dynamic flooding situation.

BREAKING NEWS - Evacuation Order Rescinded for: 1) Huntingdon Village 2) Area West of Sumas Way between the USA Border to Lonzo Road. Area is now under an evacuation ALERT. See attached maps pic.twitter.com/cEkssp5f6d

— Abbotsford Police Department (@AbbyPoliceDept) November 17, 2021

(UPDATE: Nov. 17 @ 10:30 am) - The serious flooding situation in Abbotsford had rescuers working throughout the night to evacuate residents stranded in Sumas Prairie.

At a news conference this morning, Mayor Henry Braun said around 184 people were brought to safety by water and air rescue overnight thanks to the hard work of three helicopters and 11 rescue teams on boat.

Those numbers only included work on the west side of Sumas Prairie, which is work being handled by the City of Abbotsford.

On the east side of Sumas Prairie, emergency crews from Chilliwack are lending a hand and Abbotsford Fire Chief Darren Lee said that another 100 or so rescues were in the cue in that area overnight.

While rescue operations overnight were successful, and Abbotsford Police Chief Mike Serr confirmed that no one was unaccounted for at this point, the situation is still very dynamic.

Braun said that the Barrowtown Pump Station is capable of pumping more than half a million gallons of water per minute, but the current surge is from the Nooksack River in Washington State.

"The Barrowtown Pump Station is operating at its full capacity, but was never intended or designed to take on water from another country," Braun explained, adding that the situation remains critical at this time.

However, Braun also noted: "I feel much better today than I did last night."

Part of the reason that the situation looks a little better this morning is the hundreds of volunteers that worked tirelessly overnight to protect the Barrowtown Pump Station.

The mayor explained that those volunteers teamed up with City staff and contractors, as well as partner organizations, to build an access road into the pump station and do what they could to protect it from the surging flood waters.

"(They) built a dam to protect the pump station," said Braun. "And that has happened."

Live at the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford, BC: 150 local volunteers working to sandbag the electrical transformers against the rising Sumas River #abbotsfordflood #barrowtown pic.twitter.com/Jysz4l27WB

— Wes Macaulay (@wesmacaulay) November 17, 2021

Although the situation remains serious, Braun expressed some optimism as there is no significant rain expected for the Fraser Valley until next week.

"The weather is helping us," he said." The Fraser River in the last 24 hours has dropped two metres. It needs to drop another metre before we can open up the floodgates at Barrowtown."

When those floodgates are finally able to open, it will allow for seven times more water to be released than what the Barrowtown Pump Station can do with all four pumps working at full capacity.

"If that happens in the next 24 hours, we will be able to relieve the pressure on the Barrowtown Pump Station," Braun said.

However, he hedged that optimism by stressing that "we are not out of this yet."

"The Nooksack is still flowing across our border and that water is pouring into Sumas Prairie."

(Original story: Nov. 16 @ 10:40 am) - Officials in Abbotsford have told all residents of Sumas Prairie to evacuate immediately.

Although the same residents were urged to evacuate earlier on Tuesday, the situation has become increasingly dire and life-threatening.

Police Helicopter Air 1 just provided the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) with some photos of the Sumas Prairie. Water continues to impact properties. Monitor social media for updates. pic.twitter.com/fnWVC9eWXa

— Abbotsford Police Department (@AbbyPoliceDept) November 16, 2021

"Conditions within the Sumas Prairie within the last hour have escalated and pose a significant risk to life due to the imminent failure of the Barrowtown Pump Station," said a City release.

"The Barrowtown Pump Station serves as a critical piece of infrastructure to ensure the Sumas Lake does not reform."

This event is anticipated to be catastrophic. Residents remaining and can’t evacuate safely are requested to call 911 and report their location immediately.

— City of Abbotsford (@City_Abbotsford) November 17, 2021

The Sumas Lake was a shallow freshwater lake that used to exist between Abbotsford and Chilliwack, but was drained in the 1920s and turned into Sumas Prairie for agriculture use.

If the Barrowtown Pump Station stopped running, which is the fear this evening, the 3,600-hectare lake would return in a matter of days.

"With the failure of this key piece of infrastructure, water within the Sumas Prairie will not be able to be pumped out and water from the Fraser River will begin entering the already flooded Sumas Prairie area," the City release explained.

Water came close to getting into the Barrowtown station but pumps are holding and good progress being made with the sandbags. Thanks to everyone who came out and continue to work tirelessly thru the night. #wegotthis #chilliwack #abbotsford #bcflood pic.twitter.com/9joVa2kC5p

— Erik Dv (@erikdv) November 17, 2021

At a news conference on Tuesday night, Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun urged residents to leave immediately, even if it meant leaving livestock behind.

"I know it's hard for farmers to leave their livestock. But people's lives are more important to me than chickens and livestock," pleaded Braun.

"Please heed the evacuation order and leave, tonight. Tomorrow morning might be too late."

It's estimated that around 300 people live in 200 properties affected by the urgent evacuation order.

The City also shut down water for the Sumas Prairie area due to a current water main breach caused by erosion.

Earlier on Tuesday, Braun said impassable highways are creating havoc as police and firefighters try to get people to evacuation centres.

"It breaks my heart to see what’s going on in our city," he said.

Sunny skies followed two days of torrential rain that matched the region’s typical amount over the entire month of November, but the mayor said the water keeps rising and Hwy 1 will be cut off for some time.

"People need to prepare that they may not be able to travel for a few days. Even then, there are washouts further up into the Interior, the Coquihalla (Highway), the (Fraser) Canyon. There’s not going to be any movement of trucks any time soon, or trains for that matter."

Braun cautioned people against driving into what could be extremely deep ditches, adding he’s worried about getting enough information from officials in Washington state about water levels that have risen dramatically from the overflowing Nooksack River and over the Sumas dike.

"When are we going to crest? When is it going to level off here? It’s like a full cup of coffee. Once it’s full, it keeps flowing over the sides."

More important information can be found on the City of Abbotsford website

– With files from Canadian Press