December 12,2025
RED FM News Desk
Flooding continues to impact parts of Abbotsford, B.C., on Friday, leading to expanded evacuation orders, school closures, the shutdown of a significant section of Highway 1, and rising concern for farmers in the Sumas Prairie.
Provincial and local authorities said conditions remain unpredictable as water continues to shift through the region, with the Sumas area expected to remain the main concern throughout the day.
Updates will be provided here as the situation develops. During a Friday news conference, Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens criticized the federal government, saying he has not received a single call from Ottawa since flooding began Thursday morning.
He accused federal officials of failing to act swiftly on the city’s flood mitigation plan, developed after the devastating November 2021 floods.
“To say we are disappointed and frustrated is an understatement,” Siemens said. “Once again, the safety and well-being of our residents, our farms, our livestock, provincial food security, the provincial economy, and even the national economy remain unprotected and at risk.”
The mayor also expressed frustration with the United States, arguing that floodwaters from Washington state’s Nooksack River should be addressed under a framework similar to the Columbia River Treaty, which governs shared water use and flood mitigation.
Speaking at another news conference Friday morning, Minister of Agriculture and Food Lana Popham confirmed that “a couple” of poultry barns have been “lost” to the flooding in Abbotsford. She did not specify how many chickens died overnight.
“Any time a farmer loses livestock, it is heartbreaking and traumatic, and my heart goes out to those farmers,” she said, noting that hog and dairy farmers have been helping each other move animals to safer locations.
Popham reported that 68 registered farms are under evacuation orders, while another 98 are on evacuation alert.
Meanwhile, the Lower Mainland division of B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation and Transit issued an update Thursday night on Highway 3. The route remains closed between Hope and Princeton due to nearly two dozen damaged sections, including rockslides, debris, and areas where the road has been undermined. There is currently no timeline for reopening.
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