Sisters area prepares for possible flooding

The city of Sisters is asking residents to prepare for potential flooding. Lots of snow, and now rain and warmer temperatures, mean Whychus Creek is rising.

“Any time you live along a river and in this environment, there’s always that risk (of flooding),” Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Chief Roger Johnson said Thursday.

Whychus Creek runs through town and has already been causing headaches this winter.

“When it was frozen a couple weeks ago, I was not sleeping at night,” said Paul Bertagna, the city’s public works director. “A lot of people weren’t sleeping at night, but it broke through about 10 days ago and it’s pretty much a wide-open channel now.”

The creek is swelling. It’s measured in cubic feet per second (cfs), and Bertagna said it’s been about 60 cfs the past 10 days, and is now 200 cfs.

“I’m kind of worried that the water is going to rise enough to flood the town, and I really don’t want that to happen,” said Sisters resident Brett Cotter. “But I’m not sure what could be done about it.”

Joyhnson added, “We’ve been meeting as public officials with the city and Deschutes County emergency management and the fire department for probably two months now, just talking about the risk and planning for anything that could happen.”.

There will be a community forum from 5:30-7 p.m. Friday at Sisters High School.

“The message we want to deliver is preparedness;” Bertagna said. “We want people to know that there is a possibility of a high-water event,and what they can do not only with their own properties, but to help their neighbors.”

Some information about two potential sandbag filling stations is available at the city’s website, at http://www.ci.sisters.or.us/