Flood warning ends, evacuation alert lifted for Yukon's Klondike River valley

The risk of serious flooding in the Klondike River valley near Dawson City, Yukon, appears to have passed, with the release of an ice jam and a significant drop in the river level on Tuesday.

Emergency officials say that means the flood warning advisory for the area has now been lifted, and an evacuation alert issued last week is now rescinded.

"That means we're seeing positive movement on the Klondike River," said Paul Robitaille, the town's emergency information officer, on Tuesday. "We should all be happy for the news."

An ice jam at the Klondike Highway bridge was the main cause for concern in recent days, as it caused the river level  upstream to rise. On Tuesday, the ice on the Klondike broke and that ice jam was flushed downstream.

That caused the water at the bridge to drop by 1.7 metres, officials said.

As of Tuesday morning, there were still two other ice jams still in place upstream on the Klondike at Henderson Corner and the Bear Creek subdivisions, but Robitaille said those are not a major concern.

"They don't pose a risk per se. We will expect to see some fluctuations on the river, you know, not only with the ice jams but also with the freshet, when the snow melt comes — but we don't expect it to be significant at this stage."

Robitaille said one local property saw some flood damage this year. Beyond that, it looks like the area was spared any significant problems like there were last year.

"We're really happy that we dodged a bullet so to speak, relative to any further damage this year. So we can rest easy, as far as that goes," he said.

Still, Robitaille encouraged local residents to always ensure they have a 72-hour emergency kit ready at home, just in case. He said it's essential, especially in a remote community like Dawson.

"We're really at the whim of Mother Nature. Things like floods will be a threat every year, likely, for our area, and same thing goes for wildfires, landslides, power outages," he said.

"Being prepared is probably the best thing you can do."