By Brenda Starkey
Chronicle correspondent

     The on again, off again flood warning for the Kettle River was canceled at 8:18 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, with the water level receding faster than forecast, according to a statement from the National Weather Service in Spokane.
     A small streams flood advisory issued over the weekend also has been canceled, according to the weather service.
     The river crested twice, once at 18.67 feet Monday, May 19, and again at 18.43 feet at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
     Flood stage for the observation point at Ferry, northwest of Curlew in the extreme northwest corner of Ferry County, is 18.5 feet.
     At 18.5 feet flooding begins on Customs Road at mile post 6. When the river reaches 19 feet, flooding occurs at Beal Park, about nine miles west of Curlew on West Kettle River Road, according to weather service statements.
     Unusually high temperatures last week prompted fast melting of an above-average snow pack and caused the rising water.
     The Kettle River at Ferry had receded to 17.34 feet by 9:30 a.m. Thursday, May 22, putting it below the active level of 17.5 feet, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Web site.
     The river had not been forecast to reach that level until Friday morning.
     A flood warning originally was issued for the Kettle River at 1:17 p.m. Sunday, May 18, and canceled Tuesday, May 20.
     Rain in the Canadian Rockies caused the water level to rise again despite lower temperatures, and a flood warning was issued again around 1 p.m. Wednesday. It was subsequently canceled that evening when the water again receded.
     The Kettle River rose to 20.18 feet May 22, 2006, and its all-time recorded high level was 21.5 feet May 29, 1948, according to the NOAA Web site.