The Village of Cache Creek has rescinded a number of evacuation orders Monday as the situation continues to improve.

Emergency Operations Centre Information Officer, Wendy Coomber, tells RadioNL it means about half of the roughly 300 people who were forced out of their homes on Old Cariboo Road, Nugget Road, and Collins Road last week are now able to go back.

“We have tried to let them know that we are still on a boil water advisory. Some of the properties will be on water restrictions,” Coomber said.

“There is lots of debris around town still and of course, Todd Road is broken up on either side of the bridge which used to be their main access home for a lot of these people, so they’re going to have to take the long way around.”

Coomber says all of those properties will be on an evacuation alert, with residents being told they may need to leave their homes again on short notice, if the situation worsens. The village has released a 13-page ‘Welcome Home’ guide for people.

“[Water levels are] still very high but they are definitely trending downwards,” Coomber said. “We’re not expecting them to go up unless we have a significant rainfall in the next little while but the forecast for the next few days is sunny skies.”

An evacuation order remains in place for all 78 units in the Sage and Sands Trailer Park, pending the inspection of a nearby dyke along the Bonaparte River.

“The Emergency Operations Centre wants an assessment of that dyke to know that it is safe and it will hold the water back before the we lift the order on that park,” Coomber said. “Their ESS supports were coming due tomorrow, so we’ve asked for an extension of three days. Hopefully we won’t need that entire three days to get an assessment on the dyke but we have that if it’s needed.”

Mayor John Ranta told RadioNL that the Village of Cache Creek will remain under a state of local emergency until at least Saturday, May 20. He also said damage in parts of the the village has been extensive.

“I think there’s a good chance we’ll lose at least one of the motels that were in Cache Creek and possibly two,” Ranta said, noting the Village is planning to start a fund that people can donate to to help people recover.

“Many homeowners don’t have overland flood insurance, because it’s too expensive,” Ranta added. “Hopefully, some people will contribute to that fund and allow us to provide some form of financial assistance to those that have been damaged considerably.”

For the latest on flooding information in Cache Creek, go here or to the Village of Cache Creek Facebook page here.