Eganville — It has been more than 20 years since the ice storm devastated the area leaving a trail of frozen destruction and local residents have not seen anything nearing that scale of widespread declarations since 1998.

That is until this last week when several municipalities, including Renfrew County itself, issue their respective declarations of emergency in order to qualify for financial assistance when the time comes to pay the bills for the damaged municipal infrastructure.

Whitewater Region was the first out of the gate after several reports were received about the rising level of water in and around LaPasse and parts of Westmeath, some of the most north-western areas of the township along the Ottawa River. The township’s Emergency Control Group, which includes Mayor Michael Moore and Fire Chief Jonathan Wilker, agreed to issue the declaration following a committee meeting on Thursday, April 25.

“We decided to go ahead and file with the province so we are eligible for provincial funding after it is over and we have completed the repairs,” Mayor Moore said.

As the former deputy-fire chief of the township prior to his election victory last fall, Mayor Moore appreciates the efforts of the department and all the volunteers who have been working tirelessly over the last week.

“This has been tough on everyone involved and we owe them a lot and some of our residents are having a bad time,” he said. “As of Monday, we had about 50 homes evacuated and luckily the eight members of the Red Cross were here and that has helped. We will be so happy when this is over.”

He said it is unfortunate a large number of the 50 residences evacuated belonged to seniors because although they know it is for their own safety, having lived there for several years makes it hard to suddenly pack up without knowing when they will return.

Mayor Moore urges residents and any visitors to keep unnecessary travel to an absolute minimum so crews and volunteers are not compromised.

“We were fortunate to have about 50 soldiers from Petawawa down to help this week and along with nine MNRF staff members and our own volunteers, they have been doing a great job in trying to remain caught up,” he said.

The greatest concern is the unknown and what will happen next. Mayor Moore and his emergency committee have daily meetings and all they can do is wait and try to prepare for all eventualities.

“One thing we do know for sure is the Ottawa River is rising…fast,” he said. “We have people constantly measuring the water level in the LaPasse watershed and it rose almost 18 inches in a 24-hour period. And we don’t know what is happening in Algonquin Park and the melting snow.”

The impact of the Ottawa River is having a devastating affect in both Horton and McNab Braeside townships, and in both cases, it is bringing back memories of 2017 and the path of destruction caused by the mighty river.

Horton Mayor Dave Bennett declared an emergency around 7:30 a.m. Friday after it became evident the 2019 Spring Flooding Freshet was severe and rising water levels threatened both property and the health of residents.

Similar to LaPasse, Horton township, which also borders the Ottawa River, has many homes damaged by the rising water and some are accessible only by boat and about 90 soldiers have been assisting township staff and residents.

In next door McNab Braeside, Mayor Tom Peckett also issued the declaration on Friday when the area of Rhoddy’s Bay was under extreme pressure due to the rising water. To date, township staff and volunteers have distributed 5,000 sandbags.

Renfrew County Warden (and Bonnechere Valley Mayor) Jennifer Murphy said the rising water levels, combined with the melting snow in Algonquin Park, is a threat that is being assessed and all anyone can really do is wait to see what happens.

“This is something unprecedented during my time as an elected representative and it is not something we wanted, but it is here and we are dealing with it, day by day and hour by hour,” she said. “Our control group has representatives not just from the county, but we have agencies that we keep up to speed with in terms of accurate information.”

She said the group, led by Renfrew County Director of Emergency Services, Mike Nolan, meets in the early morning and mid-afternoon and since she announced the emergency declaration this past Sunday, support has come from many areas.

“Just the last few days, Garrison Petawawa has sent down more than 300 soldiers to assist Horton, McNab Braeside, and LaurentianValley with about 50 soldiers at each location since they all declared their own emergencies.

“Some of the soldiers are pitching in to help make sandbags and others are working on infrastructural support and we are just so thankful for them coming to assist us,” she said. “All these townships, along with Pembroke, are now in an emergency situation and that means a lot of documentation to back up any claims.”

Other municipalities that have officially declared an emergency are Greater Madawaska, Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards and Pembroke.

Perhaps one site that has truly captured the severity of the rising water levels is the iconic lighthouse located on the boardwalk in Pembroke along the Ottawa River.

Sometime early Sunday morning, before sunrise, the force of the Ottawa River removed the lighthouse from its moorings and it could be seen floating in the river. These and several other incidents led to the city declaring its own emergency situation.

Along with Pembroke, neighbouring Laurentian Valley and Petawawa followed with their own declarations. In the case of Petawawa, rising levels of both the Ottawa and Petawawa rivers resulted in the closure of Centennial and Petawawa Point Parks.

One thing Warden Murphy said has impressed her is the selfless acts of all those who have volunteered over the last few weeks.

“For the second time in two years, the residents of Renfrew County are being challenged by the unknown of what is going to happen and people are coming out in droves to volunteer,” she said. “Many are complete strangers working beside each other, filling sandbags that get delivered to people they likely don’t even know and we are all in this together no matter what happens over the next little while.”