Abbotsford Fish and Game Club is recovering from flood damage including loss of bridge – Agassiz Harrison Observer

The site, which serves as the western Canadian firearms training center for border services officers and Correctional Service Canada personnel, is working on its reconstruction after the recent flooding.

The Abbotsford Fish and Game Club (AFGC) suffered significant damage, including the destruction of the bridge leading to its property, when flooding began in mid-November.

President Robert Engh said the club is currently losing between $ 2,000 and $ 4,000 a day due to its rentals with the two government agencies.

The ACEC also leases its facilities to the Justice Institute, the RCMP and municipal police departments, in addition to providing several handgun and archery ranges for its approximately 5,000 civilian members.

“They use all of our facilities. Now none of them can, and I can’t even suggest a timeline as to when we’ll be back and up and running, ”Engh said.

AFGC is located on Lakemount Road, north of Highway 1 and east of Cole Road, at the foot of Sumas Mountain. Access to the property is from McDonald Road, with a bridge crossing the Sumas River.

Engh said the property was first affected on the evening of November 14, when the first atmospheric river hit the area.

A landslide from Sumas Mountain filled the pond with sediment, the swamp receded, and water down the mountain drained onto the property.

The next day, the main flooding struck, when the Nooksack River in Washington state overflowed from its banks and carried floodwaters north through the Sumas Prairie. Breaches in the Sumas dyke system intensified the situation.

Engh watched the scene that afternoon.

“As close as I could get to, the bridge was underwater and the clubhouse was about seven feet deep in the water and ran through our entire property,” he said.

The guards of the property could not come out, but their residence is on a hill and they were able to stay there for the duration.

The club was flooded again in the days leading up to December 1 due to repairs to the Sumas Seawall and more material coming down the mountain.

But when the flood waters receded, the full extent of the damage could be seen. Engh said the worst was the washout of the bridge and the gas line, and the gravel trucks that had to be removed from the property.

This work was well advanced last week, with crews using the McKay Creek Trail to bring in small gear.

“We have around 1,000 trucks of gravel that need to be removed from the property so that we can prevent it from being flooded again, as we’ve already been flooded twice more,” Engh said at the end of the week. last.

He said they were hoping to build a Bailey Bridge so they could bring in bigger equipment.

Engh said the damage to the buildings was not as severe as he had imagined – he thought they might be washed away – but the main lodge suffered electrical damage and part of the ground floor must be rebuilt.

The bathroom of the sea can also needs to be gutted and rebuilt, just like the trap house.

On Friday December 10, the teams were able to access the property and the cleaning and restoration work was underway.

Engh said ACEC is fortunate enough to have insurance to cover the costs of damage to the building, but gravel removal is not covered and could cost up to $ 300,000. He said the club will find a way to fund this expense.

“My membership is incredibly awesome. We have only had a wave of support from our members, ”he said.

Engh said there is still a lot of work to be done, but he hopes they will be fully operational in the coming weeks. Updates will be provided on the club’s website at abbotsfordfishandgameclub.org.

Flooding in BC Flooding in BC 2021

The bridge leading to the Abbotsford Fish and Game Club (AFGC) was washed away in massive flooding that hit the area in mid-November. (Photo: Abbotsford Police Department)

The bridge leading to the Abbotsford Fish and Game Club (AFGC) was washed away in massive flooding that hit the area in mid-November. (Photo courtesy of AFGC)

A Sumas Mountain landslide filled the Abbotsford Fish and Game Club’s basin with sediment. (Photo courtesy of AFGC)

The Abbotsford Fish and Game Club before massive flooding hit the area.