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And they say they have been made welcome.

“People here have been great. I don’t think I’ve gone a day without someone coming showing up with pizza, or doughnuts,” said Cpl. Randy Grills.

Photo by Tony Caldwell / Postmedia

Maj. Cullen Downey said it has been a rewarding experience. “Emotions run fairly high. But we’re able to help them in their time of need.”

Lt. Col. Aaron Williams, the Commanding Officer of 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, is also the commanding officer of the 700 Armed Forces personnel involved in sandbagging efforts in Ottawa.

“We are happy to do this work,” he said.

Williams starts his morning at Connaught Ranges at Shirley’s Bay, where a camp was set up within hours of Ottawa calling for assistance on Thursday. The day begins with a briefing that ranges from forecasts of when the flood is expected to peak at various points on the Ottawa River to reports of equipment available to assist in the effort. On Tuesday, Williams guided media through flooded areas in Constance Bay in light armoured vehicles.

Downey offered another briefing at the command post in the community centre at Constance Bay, where a map with coloured pins indicates various priorities. Overnight on Monday, the wall of sandbags around one property on Bayview Drive was breached and military engineers rushed to repair it. Power has been shut off in about 160 area homes.

Keeping at last one lane of Bayview Drive open is a priority, so emergency vehicles can get through and military crews can continue to deliver sand. While light armoured vehicles drive through water deeper than any passenger vehicle, once water rises above a certain level, LAVs are also unsafe.

Photo by Justin Tang / THE CANADIAN PRESS

“On the city side, we are very focused on Bayview Drive,” Coun. Eli El-CHantiry said. “If we lose Bayview Drive, there is no other way in.”

On Tuesday afternoon the city urged residents of about 150 Bayview Drive homes to evacuate ahead of expected rain. Power to the affected homes was to be shut off as of 7 p.m. Tuesday night.

“We need to survive tonight,” said El-Chantiry. “We’re dealing with a moving target.”

Healther Lucent, a spokeswoman for West Carleton Disaster Relief, said the organization is still looking for volunteers to bag sand. But she also has a message for those residents who have declined to leave when advised to do so: “We need you safe. You’re not abandoning your home by staying safe overnight. You need to be warm and comfortable.”

The 2017 floods damaged 518 area homes, El-Chantiry said.

“The colonel (Williams) said we’re going to fight this fight. When you fight mother nature, I’m not sure who is going to win. But if we minimize the damage, if we save five extra homes than 2017, then we win the battle.”