Evacuation order due to flooding lifted for homes in Fancy Lake area
Level of Hebb Lake posed a risk to 435 homes
Update: As of 3:15 p.m. AT Sunday, the state of local emergency and evacuation order for homes around Fancy Lake have been lifted. Read more here.
The evacuation order was lifted Sunday afternoon. Residents can return to their homes but should be prepared to leave again if conditions change. The evacuation centre at the NSCC in Bridgewater will close Monday at 5 p.m.
From earlier:
More than 400 homes in the Fancy Lake area near Bridgewater, N.S., were evacuated Saturday due to flooding caused by heavy rains and the removal of logs from a nearby dam, which has been partially opened to prevent a breach.
The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg issued a news release early Saturday afternoon urging those who live around Fancy Lake, including on "lands situated on Conquerall Mills Road from William Hebb Road to Conquerall Road to Highway 103 to Century Drive, including all of Trunk 3" to immediately leave the area.
A state of local emergency has been declared.
On Sunday, a news release from the municipality asked people in the area to avoid unnecessary travel as crews assess damage.
It said water levels have stopped rising since Saturday, but they're still about 48 centimetres higher than normal.
Bridgewater Mayor David Mitchell said the town was spared from the worst of the damage.
"We're one big family in Lunenburg County," Mitchell said.
"We are kind of the economic centre of the region so we serve the whole region and we're here to help each other. So that's definitely what we're doing."
Mitchell said a small provincially owned bridge on one of the town's main roads was damaged and one of the major roads into town from exit 13 on Highway 103 has been "significantly damaged."
In the Region of Queens Municipality, there is a voluntary evacuation order in place for residents of St. Catherine's River Road in Port Joli, beyond civic number 297, because the road is washed out.
A flyer distributed Saturday afternoon said there would be a one-time evacuation from the area by boat with the help of local fire departments and volunteers.
Residents would then be taken by bus to the West Queen's Recreation Centre in Port Mouton.
Road repairs are expected to take about five days, the flyer said.
Elsewhere on the South Shore, residents along the Mersey River in Queens County, near Liverpool, have been told to prepare a "go bag" in case an evacuation is required due to rising water levels.
