Homes flooded in Delta; kite surfer rescued at Boundary Bay

DELTA (NEWS 1130) – Homes have been flooded in the lower areas of Delta due to a combination of the wind and high tide.

The day didn’t start very well for Myrna Olmstead, who lives in a house overlooking Boundary Bay, just blocks away from the border with Point Roberts.

“When I first woke up, I was in a state of panic, I must say, only because I knew I couldn’t open the garage door to get my car out. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh.’ If the water gets any higher — it was already up to the rims of the car — I thought, ‘What do I do?'”

The good news is crews from the Corporation of Delta have pumped the water out of her garage and the water has not gotten into other parts of the house, although her crawl space was flooded, as well.

Still, the coming weeks will mean a messy clean-up for Myrna and her neighbours.

Dramatic rescue ends successfully

A kite surfer was rescued in dramatic fashion in Boundary Bay.

When James Hipwell saw his friend, Kash, lying on his board in the water, tangled up in his gear after a harness snapped, he knew he had to make a call. After alerting someone on shore to call the Coast Guard, he went back in and towed Kash to safety.

“I was just thankful that he stuck it out to see that I got back to the beach,” says Kash. “I was about 200-300 yards off shore. It’s a long swim. It doesn’t sound like much in distance, but it’s still a long swim. Just the fact that he hung about long enough to make sure I got back to the beach — I’m very appreciative.”

“I went out there and told him to get rid of the kite and I could try to tow him in. But because he was wrapped up and tired, he started to lie on the kite and just kind of rest. And I thought, ‘Uh oh.'”

“A little dramatic at times, but for the most part everything was under control. Hope it doesn’t happen again, but that happens in the sport,” added Kash.

Eventually, they were able to cut him free of his gear. As for Kash, he’s thankful James made the decision he did.

Close call in Cloverdale

Early this morning, a woman in Cloverdale was asleep when she heard a loud crack and an even louder bang. A 60-foot tree came crashing down in her backyard, narrowly missing her home.

“I was a stressed… I was supposed to go to work today… It just reminds you what Mother Nature can really do. It’s a wake-up call. It can happen.”

She’s not the only one dealing with issues today; many of her neighbours lost power overnight. Trees and wires are down across the region, with some of the hardest-hit areas in Surrey, Langley, and Abbotsford.