Ice jam in Canadian river causes hardship

PRINCE GEORGE, British Columbia, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Dozens of homes and businesses are on evacuation alert in British Columbia because of a nearly 7-mile-long ice jam in the Nechako River at Prince George.

Officials say the ice jam has doubled in length in less than a week, Canwest News Service reports.

On Thursday, 20 homes remained evacuated while another 47 were placed on alert along with dozens of businesses.

Red Cross spokeswoman Christine Finnerty said some residents may be out of their homes for another couple of months. "We are appealing for funds for household goods ... groceries, transportation needs," Finnerty told the news agency.

Prince George city liaison officer Kevin Brown told Canwest an amphibious excavator is making good progress cutting a channel up the Nechako River from the mouth of the Fraser River to allow the water and ice to flow downstream.