Major catastrophe...

 It would be very remiss of me if I were not to mention anything about the destruction and devastation that has occurred in this little corner of the world...even though I try to keep this "blog" focused on the bike(s) and the ride(s). 
These most recent events however are too important to ignore...too significant not to mention.

Over the weekend of the 13th and 14th of November, the Lower Mainland (SW corner of BC) experienced what they call an "atmospheric river"....basically a river's worth of water, flying through the sky along the jet-stream. This "river" dumped the equivalent of a month's rain in 48 hours. 
The area to my southwest, was once a giant, shallow lake and over 100 years ago, the thinking-men of the day decided to drain the lake and use the resulting land for agriculture. This was accomplished by building a Pump Station near the Fraser River and pumping the lake dry. 
For over 100 years, this has worked out fine. When the rains come and the numerous creeks and tributaries rise, the main drainage canal routes this water to the pumping station, that either pumps the water away, or opens its floodgates to drain the land.
Back in 1990, we got a taste of trouble when the Nooksack river in Washington state, overflowed its banks and the contours of the land directed the overflow into our side of the border. Several hundred acres were inundated, but damage was minimal and the waters receded fairly quickly.

With a month's worth of rain falling over a single weekend, the drainage ditches and assorted creeks were overcome. Once again, the Nooksack overflowed its limits and flooded our plains. The Sumas river did its best to contain the onslaught, but the word came that the pumping station was expected to fail sometime Sunday night, as the rising water would eventually enter the station whereon the pumps would have to be shut down. From there, the entire Sumas prairie...from Vedder mountain to Sumas mountain...would be at the mercy of the deluge. Homes in Yarrow and Greendale could be under 10 feet of water before the water found its peak. 
In an amazing show of solidarity and community, over 300 volunteers arrived at the pumping station, and with the help of 2 automated sand-bag machines, were able to construct an emergency dike that held the water at bay...the pump station would survive!
Meanwhile, 4 ½ kms southwest of the pumping station, the Sumas river overpowered the dike and breached it. Now, there was nothing to hold the water back from the ancient lake bed, and it began to fill.

This is a very condensed version of the events as they unfolded, I don't have the time or patience to list every associated disaster that went along with a major flood...there are too many to list. 
It should also be noted that EVERY highway into the area suffered similar catastrophes and to this day, several of them are still impassable and will remain that way for weeks or even months. Highway #1 between Chilliwack and Hope fell victim to several MASSIVE slides. The #5 from Hope to Merritt in the Interior lost 5 bridges and over 20 km of road. #8 highway between Spence's Bridge and Merritt has been virtually wiped off the map...too many to list.

If you want to know more or read more about it...I'm sure you can find many stories via Google or on YouTube.
It's going to be a while before things return to "normal" around here. Although we avoided any immediate danger or damage, the infrastructure that serves us all has been damaged...