Yukon family displaced by historic floods back at home in time for Christmas
CBC
Florian Lemphers is unpacking his moving boxes at the same time as his Christmas gifts this year.
Lemphers, his wife Andrea and their two dogs, canoed out of their front yard in Shallow Bay, Yukon, on July 13, after water from the usually-distant bay breached the berm set up to protect their home.
Volunteers came from all over the territory to set up sandbags to try to keep the water at bay — but still, they were forced to leave and stay out for months.
So knowing that they can finally come home, Lemphers said, is a blessing.
"We don't have a Christmas tree up … we don't have a Christmas anything," Lemphers said, smiling as he turned on the lights in their home for the first time. "But the biggest gift of all is that we're back home for Christmas."
Lemphers' Lodge is in the Southern Lakes region, where the Yukon government declared a state of emergency in July as waters rose to new heights, and some families temporarily evacuated. Members of Canada's military also came to help with the flood relief efforts.
The Lemphers were the only ones given an evacuation order, meaning they had to leave their home for an extended period of time. Their order was lifted in August, but their contractors said they couldn't move back in until they could drain the water from the crawlspace under the house.
The Lemphers headed straight to their neighbour's house down the road after evacuating their home. Their plan was to live in their insulated garage until they could go home.
They spent 21 weeks and two days there, by Florian's count, before closing the door for the last time.
"It was like coming home because I mean … we've known them for a long time, over three decades or four," Lemphers said.
For most of their time in their neighbour's garage, the Lemphers just waited for the water levels to subside. For months, a team from Winmar property restoration ran dehumidifiers in the lodge's crawlspace to get the water to dissipate, but with no luck. Water levels only started to drop around the first week of October.
By then, all the insulation had to be ripped out from the house's crawlspace and reformed with a higher density foam.
Steven Guenette, a junior project manager with Winmar, coordinated most of the repair on the Lemphers' home, and saw the project to its end by moving the last of Florian's boxes into the lodge this week.
Guenette said he believes this might be the most extensive flood repair job he's had to coordinate.
Strong attendance and record sponsorship at the Northern Ontario Tourism Summit in North Bay is a good sign the industry is recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, says Destination Northern Ontario.
A group of Halifax residents is asking the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to look at a provincial decision to greenlight a controversial Fall River development.
Parkside Drive is closed in both directions following reports of a sinkhole, Toronto police say.
The Quebec government will present its fall economic update today.
Aggressive patients and lack of security are making nurses feel unsafe in a rural Western Manitoba emergency union, says the Manitoba Nurses Union.
Saskatoon resident Delynne Bortis knew her commute to work Tuesday morning would be particularly difficult.
WARNING: This story contains details of abuse and intimate partner violence:
The amount of money it takes for people to earn a living wage has increased across the province, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The new owner of Ontario steelmaker Stelco says his company "will not disappoint the people of Hamilton and Nanticoke," where the business's major facilities are based.
A Winnipegger is warning others about an intricate scam she says she almost fell for.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.