'Stubborn' ice jams, rising Red River levels cause concerns in Selkirk

The mayor of Selkirk, Man., says ice jams and floods east and north of the Interlake city have people on edge.

Levels continue to rise, pushing large hunks of icenorth through the city.

Selkirk MayorLarry Johannson said the conditions remind him of the spring of 2007.

"It was sunny, it was a year exactly like this where the water went down even a little bit, there wasn't a lot of snow cover," Johannson said. "But it turned on us and the north winds were brutal."

Highway 204 betweenHighway 509 and Highway 212 was closed in the EastSelkirkarea Saturdayand remains under water.TheSelkirkBridge closed over the weekend due to rising waters; ice jams and river levels havealso inchedupbeneath the Highway 4 bridge north of Selkirk.

• Rising Red River, ice jams close roads and bridges near Selkirk
• Flood closes section of Highway 204 near East Selkirk

Both bridges were closed for close to two weeks in the spring of 2007 for the same reason, Johannson said.

"The temperatures dropped dramatically. The north wind was relentless and the water kept coming. It started to come from the south and it came heavy and it did a lot of damage in our parks, in our waterfront, our seniors' blocks," he said.

• Ice wall damage leaves Manitoba community devastated in 2007
• Wall of ice destroys Manitoba homes, cottages in 2007
• Nervous watch continues on icy Red River

The fact that temperatures continue to drop below the 0 C mark also makes him nervous, he added.

"Not the way we want it to go.I mean, the ice is funny," he said. "You can take a drive onaSaturdaynight and you can look and you know it's broken up, but you think, 'Man, it's jammed up pretty good.' And you can go on aSundaymorning and it's out to the marsh area, but it's being stubborn right now. It's not going yet, it's still hanging around."

The City of Selkirk said on its website Sunday that the river has breached its banks and crews are preparing to fight flooding by putting up barricades in the most at-risk areas.

The city is asking residents to stay away from theriver banks andto remain behind city barricades for their own safety.