The worst may be yet to come in terms of the high water.
River Forecast Centre head Dave Campbell was unwilling to say how much more area rivers, creeks and streams will rise, but predicted they will remain on an upward trend well into next week and beyond.
"Maybe on even a two-week horizon - that's probably the case," Campbell said Friday during a teleconference with B.C. media.
Also on Friday, the city activated its emergency operations centre, putting it on a "level one" footing "which means the centre is in a state of readiness due to the flood risk and has access to provincial government emergency funding," city hall said in a notice.
Crews with the Prince George Fire Rescue will monitor the rivers through the weekend.
A section of the Heritage River Trail from the canoe launch at Cottonwood Island Nature Park to Taylor Drive has been closed, and both the island in Cottonwood Island Park and Paddlewheel Park remain off limits.
No warnings, alerts or evacuation alerts have been issued by the city. Further afield, 39 homes along Upper Mud Road west of the city remain on evacuation alert and the Fraser-Fort George Regional District is advising them to be ready to leave at a moment's notice.
Campbell said an abundance of snow remains in the Nechako and Upper Fraser basins while a high pressure system will continue to deliver warmer-than-usual temperatures for some time yet.
Environment Canada is forecasting daytime highs above 20 C for the next week, peaking at 26 C on Monday. The norm for this time of year is around 15 C.
"If we look at temperature trends over the past three weeks, we've been in the order of five degrees above normal across most of the Interior of the province," Campbell said. Given the time span, he said it could be characterized as "extreme weather."
Either way, Campbell said the annual spring freshet along the Fraser has come about a month sooner than usual. He said the Fraser and the Nechako rivers could become "pinch points" into the latter part of next week.
The public is urged to use caution whenever walking near the rivers and stay away from fast-moving water. Likewise, drivers are urged to refrain from trying to drive through flood water.
