Temiskaming hammered by spring rainstorm

An early spring rainstorm April 12 caused extensive damage to roads and culverts across the district.

One person is missing in Casey Township and the vehicle that individual was driving was observed going off the road into a water body during the storm in the early morning hours of April 13. At the time of this story, a major search was being conducted.

Across the district a deluge brought about 70 millimetres of rain (about three inches) in places.

The storm was caused by a Texas low-pressure system that brought strong winds of up to 60 kilometres an hour, according to Environment Canada. The rain turned to freezing ice that evening, and then turned to snow overnight and the following morning.

The Municipality of Charlton and Dack and the townships of Chamberlain and Evanturel, which are all neighbouring communities, have all called a State of Emergency.

Charlton-Dack Reeve Sandra Parkin said in a telephone interview that as of Monday, April 15, Harman's Road is closed, along with Cabin Road from Mill's Creek to Storybook Road. Crooked Cross Road and River Road had both been reopened.

In Chamberlain Township Stoney Lonesome Road and West Road were both still closed from Highway 573 to Beaver Road. Aidie Creek Road was closed from Highway 11 to Wabewawa, and Marsh Road is also closed.

MAJOR CULVERT COLLAPSE

The worst road dilemma in central and south Temiskaming was at Harman's Road in Charlton-Dack. A major culvert collapsed. A repair estimate of $200,000 is being suggested, said Parkin, but "we really have no idea what the final total is going to be at this point in time."

Two area residences are dependent on that section of road for vehicle access into town.

Parkin said the municipality is working with neighbouring Evanturel to assist the people on that road. The collapsed culvert is to the east. To the west is a bridge in Evanturel that the township closed a few years ago when the bridge was struck by a truck and declared unsound. Parkin said that engineers have given the green light for residents to walk over the bridge on foot or on ATV. Evanturel is assisting by delivering hay to one of the properties where there are horses, she noted.

"The road crews have been working endlessly," she said.

"It's fantastic. They've done such a great job."

She also expressed gratitude for the help of the neighbouring municipalities of Evanturel, Englehart and Chamberlain, as well as the support of the Ministry of Transportation.

Chamberlain Township Reeve Kerry Stewart stated in the same telephone interview that some of the roads in that municipality had been reopened but others remained closed.

He commented of the roads crews that "these guys are working pretty hard."

A new bridge constructed on Road 5 in Chamberlain three years ago required quick repairs when some of the soil washed out around the edges.

GROUND DROP

Stewart said there is now some concern "because of the frost and if anything got undermined that isn't clearly visible." As the frost moves, there is concern there could be a drop in the ground, he explained.

Along with some roads in unincorporated townships, there have been roads across the region that were affected as well.

River Valley Road by River Valley was closed.

Maybrook Road at Cane Road 1, and Cane Road at the Barber Boundary Road, were closed due to flooding. Bryce Concession 6 also was closed due to flooding.

West of Charlton roads that were closed due to flooding included Cottage Road, Bush Road and O'Grady Road. Hough Lake Road, Boston Creek Bridge, Marter Road 1, and Highway 624 between Highway 569 (Heaslip) and Larder Lake was also closed.

NEVER SEEN BEFORE

In the Temiskaming Shores area, Firstbrook Line Road, Fleming Road, and Clover Valley Road South were closed, along with Radley Hill, a steep grade road in the city.

"We've been busy," said Temiskaming Shores transportation services manager Mitchell McCrank in a telephone interview April 15.

At that point, all roads had been reopened but crews were still working on Fleming Road, said McCrank.

He said the damage on the roads occurred mainly due to "the sheer amount of rain we got." However, he added that "we think there were some beaver dams that might have broke" adding to the amount of water. The ground was still partly frozen, he added, causing the water to just sit on the surface.

"I haven't seen that amount of rain this early in April," he said.

"We have some journeymen on our crew who have seen a lot of things and they haven't seen anything like a few of our roads we were doing on Friday."

McCrank said a few residences were affected by the temporary road closures, but "no one was stranded in their home. The public works worked with the property owners to get them through or to get their children through. All these people could pass by Saturday afternoon."

Clerk-treasurer Krystle Seymour, who administers the townships of Kerns, Hudson, Harley and Casey, said all the municipalities experienced road damage due to heavy rainfall.

"There were several washouts in each municipality."

As of Monday afternoon, April 15, she said roads crews had "been working since the storm began to mitigate the damage caused to municipal roads and infrastructure. Several roads were closed in Casey, Harley and Kerns over the weekend, however, as of this morning (Monday), they are all now open with the exception of McCool Road in Kerns Township as it experienced a significant washout that will require more time to repair."

A portion of the Anima-Nipissing Road was washed out. The road leads to a popular cottage area. Latchford clerk-treasurer Jaime Allen said in a telephone interview that roads crews are waiting for the water to go down so they can assess the site to see how they are going to repair it.

"The public works has closed the road. It's too dangerous. It will be fixed well before the cottage season opens," he assured.

He added that Public Works and Government Services Canada opened the dam on the Montreal River in Latchford over the weekend to relieve some of the water pressure on Bay Lake and allow the dams further upstream to also be opened.

Temagami Reeve Dan O'Mara commented in an email that "there was a washout on Red Squirrel Road. It was reported to me by the Temagami Forest Management Corporation. It has closed the road until repairs are done."

In James Township (Elk Lake and area) one culvert on a concession road had washed out but the roads crew had it fixed by Monday. There were also a few other small washouts that the roads crew was working on, according to roads representative Adam Gibson.

Darlene Wroe, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Temiskaming Speaker