Residents see the damage from Lac La Biche floods

Spruce Drive is closed off due to water damage from the flooding.

The rain has subsided and there are sunny days ahead, but Lac La Biche residents are now dealing with the aftermath of the floods.

Water is still making its way into basements, destroying roadways, and wreaking havoc on people’s properties.

Residents are now left with hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in damages to their basements and property.

Lac La Biche local, Kimberly Spence has been helping her mother for over a week deal with the flooding in her basement.

“I’m 35 and this is the first time I am seeing anything like this in Lac La Biche,” said Spence. “There has been minor flooding in the past but nothing like this.”

A steady stream of water started to make its way into Spence’s mothers basement last Thursday and even though they had a couple of Shop-Vacs it still wasn’t enough to prevent damages.

“There is definitely damage done to the baseboards, the bottom of the walls, the couches are soaked right now, and a lot of stuff like clothing and furniture for sure,” said Spence.

Having seen the flooding take over Lac La Biche, and impact so many people, Spence wonders how this will be prevented in the future.

“I’m curious if the County is going to do anything about it. Are they going to put new drainage systems in the area?” asks Spence.

Currently, Spence and her family have gotten rid of the majority of the water, but they are not looking forward to the upcoming weekend where it is forecasted to rain for four days straight starting on Sunday.

Damage to the roadways

For people wanting to take a walk alongside the Lac La Biche Lake, keep in mind that there are some damaged roadways as water rushes through and underneath the asphalt to get to the lake.

Spruce Drive is now closed off to traffic.

Property damage mitigation

The County released a statement saying that there are now empty sandbags people can pick up at the County Centre in Lac La Biche, and at the Co-Op Gas Bar in Plamondon to help prevent flooding issues from persisting.

“There are also sand piles at McArthur Place, Golden Sands, the Plamondon Fire Hall, the Rich Lake Fire Hall, and Campsite Road that you can use to fill the bags.”

For more information, go to the County’s Updates on Flooding page.