THUNDER BAY – Fort William Historical Park staff have been hard at work preparing the park for possible floods this spring but so far they say that with the current low river level and the slow melt of snow a flood situation is unlikely.
“Honestly, it always depends on what mother nature decides, as it is right now, we have a very low level of water in front of us looking at the data, there’s nothing too crazy going on upstream and we’re having the slow melt, and then even with the rain coming in, it should go into the snow a lot more,” said Emily Carr, communications officer.
“So if all is well then we should be good for the flooding issue. I’m going to say fingers crossed, you never know, there can always be a twist or a turn that mother nature throws at you. But right now as everything stands, we’re looking very well.”
Staff at the park were hard at work making sure everything is raised off the ground especially the more precious items such as furs and historic tools.
“They’re not even stored on the historic site or they’ve been moved up to the second floor of a building,” said Carr.
Also at the top of the priority list is the welfare of the livestock kept on the premises. If there appears to be any sort of danger from flooding, the animals are moved to higher ground on-site, or moved off location altogether until it is safe for them to return.
The park is currently open for guided tours at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and will reopen to its regular season hours (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 7 days a week) starting on May 21 for more information call 473-2344
