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DEH CHO
The only notable thing about this year's breakup in the Deh Cho was the ease with which it happened.

A trail of ice floats past Fort Simpson on the Mackenzie River towards the main ice pack on Monday. The Liard River pushed into the Mackenzie beside the village on May 5. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

"A non-event this year," is how John McKee, the senior administrative officer of the Hamlet of Fort Liard, described breakup.

McKee said it was difficult to put an exact date and time on the break-up of the Liard River near the community because of the way the event took place. The ice normally comes down the Liard and jams right in front of the community where the river bends, he said.

This year there wasn't one big ice push like normal. Starting around May 1, the ice came down in sections and didn't jam at all.

"It's not one big event this year," McKee said.

At its peak, the water level on the river rose approximately 1.2 metres before quickly dropping.

"You can see all the sandbars and everything," he said.

The water levels in the Liard River are below normal, said Roger Pilling, a hydrometrics supervisor with the Water Survey of Canada.

The Liard receives most of its water from northeastern British Columbia at this time of the year, particularly from the Nelson River. That area received a below-normal snow pack this year, Pilling said.

Breakup on the Liard River reached the ferry crossing at Fort Simpson by approximately 3 a.m. on May 5. At the crossing, the river peaked at 12 metres, which is close to average, possibly because of the way the ice jammed at the mouth of the Mackenzie River, Pilling said.

The ice continued to push forward and had reached the Papal site by Saturday morning. The ice continued to push on and off all day, first making inroads into the Mackenzie River on the opposite side from the village by Harris Creek, Pilling said. By Monday evening, the ice started to move along the village's riverbank.

The water level on the Mackenzie River reached 11.73 metres on May 7. The average for this time period between 1980 and 2009 was 11.3 metres, said Pilling.

By Monday afternoon, the jam of ice was more than 10 km down river from the village.

"The chances of flooding are quite low now," Pilling said.

The ice on the upper Mackenzie was still intact as of May 7. It normally takes a week to 10 days from the rest of the breakup for that ice to drop down, he said.

Pilling said overall, this year's breakup has been pretty quiet.

At the Village of Fort Simpson, Sebastien Goyer, the village's senior administrative officer, said people were breathing a sigh of relief.

Water levels didn't reach 12.5 metres, which is when the village's flood watch procedures officially commence. In order to be ready, Goyer said the village responded as though that level had been reached.

Mayor Sean Whelly said this year's breakup was almost like a family event. It was warm on Saturday and lots of people were lining the banks of the river to watch the ice, he said.

"We wish it could be like that every year," said Whelly.

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