HWY 1 reopens through Abbotsford after flooding; evacuation orders modified
Posted December 12, 2025 7:42 am.
Last Updated December 14, 2025 10:41 pm.
Fraser Valley continues to deal with the aftermath of an atmospheric river that overwhelmed local waterways, caused flooding, and closed roads. On Sunday afternoon, the City of Abbotsford announced it was modifying some of its evacuation orders.
Evacuation Orders and Alerts
Evacuation orders for many properties in Sumas Prairie have been downgraded to evacuation alerts.
The properties — located in the eastern portion of the existing evacuation order from Sumas Dike/Marion Road west to most properties accessible from Whatcom Road, as well as most south of the Sumas River, remain on evacuation alert.
The following properties north of Highway 1 are also downgraded from Evacuation Order to Evacuation Alert:
- 1920 North Parallel Road (businesses in Parallel Marketplace)
- 36263 North Parallel Road
- 36299 North Parallel Road
- 2221 Fooks Road
- 35995 North Parallel Road
Evacuation orders remain in place for 77 properties, and 408 properties remain under evacuation alert, the city says.
For the most up-to-date information on evacuation orders and alerts, the City of Abbotsford has launched an interactive map of the affected regions online.
A flood warning remains in effect for the Sumas River.
Return Home Plan
Meanwhile, the City of Abbotsford says it is working on a Return Home Plan to support evacuated residents return home as soon as possible.
“Rapid Damage Assessments have started with the support of staff and Canada Task Force 1. These assessments advise whether or not the structure of a home is safe to re-enter or if additional work is required before it is safe to do so,” it said.
“Each home will have a placard on the door to advise them of their assessment results and where to call for additional support should it
be required. These are an important step in determining when evacuation orders can be lifted.”
Road closures
Heavy rain has impacted major highways between the Lower Mainland and the Interior, DriveBC says. Flooding, fallen rock and debris, and high avalanche hazards pose a risk to drivers in the area.
UPDATE, 11 a.m. Sunday:
The situation is constantly changing, so monitor DriveBC for the latest road conditions.
Highway 1 – Highway 11 to No. 3 Road: One eastbound lane and both westbound lanes through Abbotsford are now open. The single eastbound lane reopened Sunday morning. The westbound lanes have been open since Saturday evening.
“The highway infrastructure remains vulnerable following recent storm events,” the B.C. government said Sunday morning.
“While receding flood waters have allowed the single eastbound lane to open, officials with the Ministry of Transportation and Transit continue to monitor the weather and the performance of the highway, to determine when the second eastbound lane could also reopen.”
Current Closures (From DriveBC Website):
Highway 3 – closed from Hope to East Gate (Manning Park). “23 sights of serious damage include landslide, culvert blowouts, and road washouts,” DriveBC said. There is currently no estimated time of reopening.
- NOTE – Princeton to East Gate (Manning Park) has reopened. “Traffic control is still in place leaving Princeton advising of this,” said DriveBC.
DriveBC says Border Services requests non-local traffic avoid Highway 11/Sumas due to flooding and potential evacuation operations in Washington State.
Highway 1 – Highway 9 to Hope – Open to two way traffic. “Eastbound traffic should expect to cross over to the west-bound lanes,” said the service. “Expect speed reductions.”
Reopened (From DriveBC Website):
Highway 1 – Highway 11 to No. 3 Road
Highway 1 – Canyon – Yale to Lytton
Highway 7
Highway 5 (Coquihalla) – Hope to Merritt, reopened following flooding at Sowaqua.
Highway 99 – Mount Currie to Lilooett
Highway 8
Schools
All public schools in Abbotsford and Chilliwack were closed Friday. However, they will reopen on Monday.
On the ground
Residents of the Huntingdon neighbourhood in Abbotsford reported uncertainty and helplessness as they watched floodwaters from the Nooksack River push across the border.
On Second Avenue, where the floodwater quickly breached dozens of houses, residents who were waiting anxiously to see how bad the situation would become were forced to pack up and leave.
“It’s over, it just came in and flooded everything up,” one told CityNews on Thursday.
“It’s unnerving. You never know what’s gonna come in the next hour,” said another.
Sixty-six farms with livestock were placed under evacuation order in the region. Curtis Friesen with Jem Farms explained how many farmers were left scrambling to save their animals and equipment.
“Anything that needs to get up high, anything valuable you get up as high as you can… You’ve got to do the best you can,” said Friesen.
After his fourth flood, Friesen, dejected, described the experience as “routine for me now.”
Floodwaters peak
On Thursday evening, the City of Abbotsford explained that floodwaters would likely peak before 6:30 Friday morning, based on modelling and data from the 1990 flood event.
“The Emergency Operations Centre is continuously monitoring available data and modelling and remains in constant communication with Whatcom County and the Province of B.C. While the River Forecast at North Cedarville shows the Nooksack River has peaked and levels are now dropping, overflow waters are still flowing towards Abbotsford,” the city said.
Data from the United States Geological Survey website shows the Nooksack river near Ferndale, Wash. having reached its peak of 22.45 feet around 10:45 p.m. Thursday.
The latest
In an update Friday morning, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Kelly Greene says the coordinated government response is ongoing.
“We’re continuing to deploy sandbags and equipment and work closely with communities to assess damage and impacts, and the Ministry of Transportation and Transit is working around the clock to keep highways safe. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food is working closely with producers to protect livestock,” said Greene.
The bad news, she says, is a forecast of more rain to come.
“Now is the time for people in flood areas, if you have not done so already, pack a grab-and-go bag. Make it ready. Have the essentials that you need if you are asked to evacuate suddenly, including items like seasonal clothing, medications, and important documents like your insurance provider.”
Greene says the province has provided a step-by-step guide to preparing for an evacuation order.
Approximately 450 properties have been ordered to evacuate — including 68 registered farms. Around 1,700 more properties are on evacuation alert — including 98 farms.
Abbotsford mayor pleads for federal aid
Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens says he appreciates the province’s efforts, but expressed dismay over the federal government’s response, or lack thereof.
“To see that we are disappointed and frustrated is an understatement,” said Siemens.
“Enough is enough. We need action, and we need action now. We don’t need empty promises from the federal government that they have our back. In fact, the federal government has not even reached out to me during this event. So I’m profoundly disappointed.”
He says the city developed a long-term flood mitigation plan after 2021 to avoid the current scenario.
“We need to be pressing a full-court press for this issue to be addressed by the federal government. I need that long-term flood mitigation plan to be adopted sooner as opposed to later.”
The mayor also emphasized the need for Washington state to enter a treaty agreement with Canada for cooperative river management and flood control.
“This is a huge issue for not just Abbotsford, not just our region, not just our province, but everything that’s coming down that freeway is now stalled once again.”
What’s next?
Dave Campbell, the head of the BC River Forecast Centre, says it could be a stormy week ahead.
“The first of the most significant storms is on the Sunday, Monday period,” he said.
“As we go through these, we continue to see some uncertainty in terms of where those patterns are going to hit the most.”
This weather pattern will be warmer, he says, with the system coming from the subtropics around Hawaii.
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—With files from Cecilia Hua, Dean Recksiedler and Emma Crawford.
