LETTER – Log jam is growing quickly under bridge

Posted on June 10, 2022 in Feedback, Letters // 2 Comments

(Image: Shannon McArthur)

Thank you very much for giving your voice to the trees! I don’t know what more I can do for them but I noticed something else that concerns me.

I’ve heard it happens regularly, and it’s not that big; but the logjam doubled over-night…

When I was about eight my father took me swimming in a beaver’s pond. At one point the force of the water going over the dam pinned me against his body. If he had faltered, we would both have gone over. That day I learned, intimately, the power of moving water.

Combine that force with the weight of the logs and you have some kilotons of damage poised on the brink. The water is rising high this year, sending more deadwood downriver.

If we handle it, we have a better chance of mitigating damage; and the sooner we start, the more manageable it will be. Surely that amount of weight on the supports is not good for the bridge!

Awareness changes everything, and speaking up about something can change the onus, I believe. Knowing about this, but not attending to it; would that make those responsible for maintenance of the bridge liable for downstream damages?

Bless you, and all you do…

SHANNON McARTHUR,
aka SonLight Sparkling on the Waters

About Mel Rothenburger (9652 Articles)

ArmchairMayor.ca is a forum about Kamloops and the world. It has more than one million views. Mel Rothenburger is the former Editor of The Daily News in Kamloops, B.C. (retiring in 2012), and past mayor of Kamloops (1999-2005). At ArmchairMayor.ca he is the publisher, editor, news editor, city editor, reporter, webmaster, and just about anything else you can think of. He is grateful for the contributions of several local columnists. This blog doesn't require a subscription but gratefully accepts donations to help defray costs.

2 Comments on LETTER – Log jam is growing quickly under bridge

Bronwen Scott // June 11, 2022 at 8:06 AM // Reply

When the rivers flooded in 1948, there was a big logjam at the mouth of Heffley Creek that acted as a dam. When the water behind the dam got too high, the dam suddenly broke open. The force of the water was so great that it took out the bridge to Jensen’s Island and carved a new channel. Since then, the western channel, which used to be the main channel, is just a small and slow arm, while the eastern channel, which used to be a small arm, is now the main channel. It’s best not to let logjams build up.
John Noakes // June 10, 2022 at 5:38 AM // Reply

A few years ago, a similar “event” happened when a large log jam formed against the CN railway bridge. On a SD card, I still have photos and maybe Mel does also.
Eventually, a special railway crane came and cleared the debris.
Over the next few days, people downstream reported damage along the shoreline presumably from the debris that had been been accumulating against the railway bridge.

I too have been taking photos of the growing log jam forming this year against the supports of the Halston Bridge.