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Families band together to clean up floating hay bale hazard

Giant bagged bales of hay floated into the Salmon River during last week’s floods
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The David and VanderEyk families, their teenage children, and Township workers were out Thursday working to keep large hay bales from getting into a North Langley pump station. (Jessie Vander yk/SPecial to the Langley Advance Times)

Some local kids got to skip school on Thursday but it wasn’t a relaxing time as they helped retrieve huge bagged hay bales from flood waters in Fort Langley.

It harkened back to Langley’s agricultural past when kids would be kept out of school to help on the farm as the need arose.

The Davis family and friends spent the day fishing bales from flood waters and helping Langley Township staff prevent the plastic wrapped bales from getting inside the works and damaging a pumphouse in Fort Langley.

Jessie VanderEyk said when their longtime friends called and asked for help, they gladly loaded up their aluminum boats and headed north from their Otter area home where they have Scania Greenhouses.

Her 17-year-old, Henk, worked along the Davis family, including dairy farmers Nicole and David, who is also a Township councillor, and their kids Oliver, Logan and Desmond.

Areas of North Langley remain flooded after heavy rains Sunday and Monday. This list of road and park/trail closures was updates Thursday afternoon, Nov. 18.

ROADS CLOSED DUE TO FLOODING OR TREES

0 Ave (27600 to 27100)

16 Ave (@248 St)

20 Ave (21200 Block)

20 Ave (dead end near 232 St)

25 Ave (20200 Block)

28 Ave (26142)

33 Ave (26760)

34 Ave (East of 272 St)

40 Ave (25345)

50 Ave (22400 Block)

76B Cres (West of 227 St)

80 Ave (25800 Block)

83 Ave (@197 St)

84 Ave (24900 Block)

88 Ave (19933)

88 Ave (Near 206 St)

96 Ave (21800 Block)

100 Ave (2200 Block)

100 Ave (216 St to McKinnon)

199 St (North of 80 Ave)

200 St (@80 Ave)

208 St (24 Ave to 28 Ave)

208 St (8892)

216 St (6710)

216 St (3100 Block)

216 St (24 Ave to 40 Ave)

227 Cres (7700 Block)

232 St (@80 Ave)

232 St (3800 Block)

232 St (3900 Block)

Gloucester Way (26585)

Glover Road (7595)

Glover Road (88 Ave to Rawlison)

Springfield Drive

Willowbrook Drive (19653)

ROADS CLOSED DUE TO FLOODING AND/OR SLOPE STABILITY ISSUES

40 Ave. (west of 216 St)

64 Ave. (23600 block bridge)

264 St. (7890)

ROADS CLOSED DUE TO DOWNED HYDRO LINES

8 Ave. (25800 Block)

PARKS AND TRAILS

The following park and trail closures remain in place until onsite assessments are completed.

All trails in the Township are closed due to flooding.

Derby Hills Park closed due to flooding (park pathway)

Dickie & Fae Trail closed due to trail washouts

Irene Pearce Trail closed due to washouts

James Hill Park (pathway) closed due to tree failure

Trans Canada Trail (102B Ave) closed due to flooding

Walnut Grove Tennis Courts closed due to flooding

Williams Park (lower portion) closed due to erosion

.


Have a story tip? Email: heather.colpitts@langleyadvancetimes.com
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Large hay bales were found floating in flooded areas of North Langley. (Jessie VanderEyk/Special to the Langley Advance Times)
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The VanderEyk and Davis families spent time Thursday clearing bales from flooded areas of Fort Langley. (Jessie VanderEyk/Special to the Langley Advance Times)
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Boats were used to navigate through water-logged areas of North Langley as farmers retrieved plastic-wrapped hay bales. (Jessie VanderEyk/Special to the Langley Advance Times)


Heather Colpitts

About the Author: Heather Colpitts

Since starting in the news industry in 1992, my passion for sharing stories has taken me around Western Canada.
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