Residents in Yukon's Klondike Valley say flooding is worst seen in years

It's been a tough week for people living in the Klondike Valley near Dawson City, Yukon, as they deal with some of the worst flooding in recent memory.

Ice jams in the Klondike River have caused flooding in the Rock Creek, Dredge Pond, and Henderson Corner subdivisions.

High water and flooding is not uncommon in the area at this time of year, but many residents say this is the worst they've seen in decades.

"Last night we were at a friend's place," said Al Forester, who;s lived at Henderson Corner for 13 years. "Watching the river go through their yard — and then all of a sudden it started to rise."

Forester said he then went home, only to get a call from his friend a couple of hours later asking for help to move vehicles from their yard. That's when water found its way to Forester's yard.

"Our yard was full," he said. "It was almost up to the house. It was going through my shop, through the woodshed. What can you do?"

Forester said he did what he could. 

"We've tied the boat to the house just so that if we need to get out, we can get out," he said. "We put our vehicles on the road."

Forester said luckily the water later went down and there was no damage to his property. That's something he's grateful for after seeing some of his neighbours' properties. 

"The last report from the neighbour who has the river going under their house ... They called and said it was getting higher over there. Chances are it will come back."

Franny Krivensky lives in the Dredge Pond subdivision.

She was ready to spend the first day of her retirement doing nothing, or at least very little. Instead she found herself scrambling to save her house.

"I've been here for 20 years," she told CBC News. "I was sort of in denial when I woke up at 6:30."

Krivensky said water had risen to the point where it was touching the corner of her house. That is when her friends came over and said action had to be taken.

"I had gone out earlier but there was no sand yet," she said. "I started hauling gravel from the road and just started making little berms." 

Krivensky said she was surprised by how fast her neighbours and other community members stepped in to help. She said they filled and placed almost a thousand sandbags around her home. 

"I was in total shock," she said. "My heart is full of gratitude to everyone that came out and helped."

Dawson City Fire Chief Mike Massery told CBC News that there is still a risk of flooding in the area as ice jams in the Klondike River still need to break, but he says there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

"Touch wood, we're hoping that everything comes through nice and smoothly," Massery said.