April 22, 2020 @ 4:54 PM
On the evening of April 19th, 2020, the River Creek RV Park located at Content Bridge near Stettler was ravaged by the spring ice break.
The devastation is clearly visible from the road but the extent of the damage is not prevalent until you walk through the park itself. Trailers that have been forcibly removed from their cribbing are now arranged haphazardly and in disarray like a sandbox full of toy cars scattered by a toddler. Storage sheds sit next to giant chunks of ice, barbecues that took a ride on an errant deck still sit covered, gazebos are mangled and flattened, very few things have been spared by the breaking river.
The RVs on the higher level seem to be in fine shape and a witness on scene said that it was way worse than it appears currently (this scribbler wasn’t on scene until today - April 22nd). They remarked that given the higher temperatures we have been experiencing this week that things had already started to thaw considerably.
For some of the RVs on location that will be a welcome note seeing as they are high-centred or propped up on gigantic chunks of ice. It will be a gargantuan task to right the issues that have been caused by the extreme force of nature.
Walking through the park, there is an eerie feeling. What was once a neatly organized RV community is now a picture of disarray. There are a handful of people about and a couple of them speak to a Global News camera person who is there documenting the extent of the disaster. One of the people present mentioned the sheer amount of work that will be involved to get the park cleaned back up.
That cleanup is already underway as a handful of people travel about on side-by-sides and a few others have started the arduous process of gathering up debris and garbage. One of the people on site mentions how difficult it is to do with the current pandemic at hand but they carry on and do the best they can, it’s all they really can do.
Fortunately no one was hurt during the event.
This isn’t the first time the river has pushed the ice over its banks in the spring and it likely won’t be the last. Calls to the County regarding possible mitigation to prevent this from happening in the future, as well as any plans to aid in the cleanup of the current situation at River Creek, were not returned as of publish time but we will continue to provide details as they may become available.
Photos by Shaman Crowe
