YORKTON FLOOD

Wow.  Where to begin?

I guess I should start by saying I witnessed none of what happened on July 1st.  At least first hand.

Our family was camping in Wasagaming, Manitoba when my employer (Kirk Weinmaster) sent me a text saying there was a huge storm in Yorkton and I should phone and check on our house.  By the time I was able to discern what had happened, it was about 9pm and there was definitely water in the basement, but we weren't sure how much.

We decided to come home, but I had to take the long way (through Riding Mountain as opposed to Highway-45) because I knew I could fuel up in Dauphin and wasn't sure where I'd see a gas station if I went the other way.

The trip itself was an adventure.  I got up close and personal with a couple of moose on the highway and we were also treated to a constant light show in the sky as there was lightning steady in both the east and west.  It was almost like travelling in the daylight.  I can't remember ever seeing constant lightning like that.  On the outskirts of Dauphin, I was forced to pull over (people that know me, know that I NEVER pull over) as the rain started to come in buckets.  After waiting about 5 minutes, I decided I'd trudge along and eventually we drove out of it.

When we arrived in Yorkton, it was like something out of the movies or on CNN when you see a midwestern state stricken with the disaster of a tropical storm.  Emergency crews had Broadway sectioned off downtown and even though it was past midnight, we could see there was a 'lake' that stretched a couple of blocks.

Our own home had water, but it wasn't as bad as we envisioned.  We put our two Shop Vacs to work and pretty much had everything cleaned up by 2am.  Enter storm #2.  We must have received another inch after 3am and when we got up in the morning, water was now coming in steady.  We got it under control and within 24 hours life at our house was back to 'normal'.

We were extremely lucky when compared to friends' homes and friends' businesses.  We, at 106 Circlebrooke, have no reason to belly ache today.

........will write more shortly.

One report had 76 millimeters of rain in one hour, with the average monthly rainfall in Yorkton being 71 millimeters (to put it in perspective).

One report circulating about Dairy Queen is that a freezer full of food was actually floating around in the basement and reached the stairs when the door was opened to survey the damage.  Mark and Lori are awesome people and always give to the community, so if there is an opportunity for us to give to them, let's do it.

Ditto for McDonald's.  I noticed they are still closed today.  One person told me the water was up past the chairs on the main floor.  Dave and Tricia are excellent people and we are lucky to have them in Yorkton.  If you know them and can offer assistance, please do.  People like Mark, Lori, Dave, and Tricia are probably too proud to actually ask for it.  So volunteer yourself if you can.