HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

*2) From river-level surveys taken at the time and an estimated discharge at Hagensborg, the flood in 1934 was
slightly less in magnitude than the 1968 flood. Field surveys of historical flood marks indicate that the 1936 flood was
higher than the 1968 flood by about a foot (30 cm) (Tempest 1974).
April 7-8, 1968
Event type: Mudslide.
Precipitation: Falls River (113.3 mm/2 days), April 7-8, 1988; Tasu Sound (148.3 mm/2 days), April 7-8, 1988; Prince
Rupert M. Circ (150.8 mm/2 days), April 7-8, 1968; Kildala (43.4 mm/1 day), April 8, 1968; Kitimat Townsite (34.8
mm/1 day), April 8, 1968.
Source: The Daily News, April 8, 1968; Northern Sentinel, April 10, 1968.
On April 6-7, Prince Rupert recorded 1.05 in. (26.7 mm) of rain. On April 9-10, Highway 25 was blocked
by a mudslide 12 mi. (19.2 km) north of Kitimat, 0.5 mi. (800 m) south of the Kitimat River bridge. It measured a
width of 50 yd. (45 m) and a depth of 4 ft. (1.2 m).
April 9-10, 1968
Event type: Icejam flooding.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: The Interior News, April 17, 1968; Terrace Herald, April 17, 1964; Dr. A.S. Gottesfeld, pers. comm. May 30,
1994; J.C. Gillespie, pers. comm. June 14, 1994; W. Smith, pers. comm. August 4, 1994.
On April 9, a serious pile-up of ice against the bridge piers threatened the Bulkley River bridge at Telkwa.
Efforts by the Highways Department to break up the icejam by blasting failed. The ice eventually washed out after the
river backed up.
During the spring of 1968 a series of icejams occurred on the Morice River. The ice started breaking up way
upriver, rather than further downstream. Major icejams occurred near Houston at Owen Flats and at the confluence
with the Bulkley River. At Owen Flats, floodwaters reached the edge of the road, but did no damage (Smith, pers.
comm. August 4, 1994). At the confluence of the Morice and Bulkley rivers, the ice was pushed up above the highwater
line. Buildings of an old sawmill on the flats had only their roofs showing. The ice was backed up to the current
bridge site. (Gillespie, pers. comm.). The icejam caused the river to back up and inundate the floodplain. Large
iceflows were caught 2 m. up in the poplar trees (Gottesfeld, pers. comm. May 30, 1994).
On April 9 at 11:40 p.m., a 4-ft. (1.2 m) wall of mud and rocks flowed across Highway 25, about 15 mi. (24
km) north of Kitimat. The slide hit the right (hand) side of a car broadside. It pushed the car towards the riverbank,
ripping a wheel from the car. The road, which was covered for 50 yd. (45 m) with 4 ft. of debris, was cleared by 6:30
a.m. on April 10.
April 27-28, 1968
Event type: Mudslide.
Precipitation: Kildala (53.1 mm/1 day), April 27, 1968; Falls River (92.4 mm/2 days), April 27-28, 1968; Kitimat 2
(83.3 mm/2 days), April 27-28, 1968.
Source: Northern Sentinel, May 1, 1968.
Another mudslide occurred at the same site the April 9-10 mudslide came down. Highway 25 was closed
intermittently for clearing.
May 20-23, 1968
Event type: Spring runoff flooding.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: The Daily News, May 22 and 23, 1968; The Interior News, May 22, 1968; The Vancouver Sun, May 22 and 23,
1968; The Province, May 22 and 23, 1968; Environment Canada 1991; B.C. Ministry of Public Works 1970 (p. C 120).
Warm weather with temperatures in the high 70 o s F (ca. 26 o C), coupled with two days of warm rain brought
rivers in the Bulkley Valley to the flood level. On May 20-21, the Bulkley, Telkwa, and Buck rivers went on the
rampage. The Bulkley River was at its highest level since 1964. On May 21, the Bulkley River at Quick and the
Skeena River at Glen Vowell recorded maximum daily discharges of 861 m 3 /s and 2,700 m 3 /s, respectively
(Environment Canada 1991). On May 20, floods threatened four families in Houston. Late on May 20 the approaches
to Buck River washed out. The Buck River, fed by a heavy snowpack in an area denuded by a forest fire in 1961, was
at its highest level in several years. The four families, who sustained about $5,000-6,000 property damage, were
evacuated. In Houston, a general store suffered extensive stock damage to stored winter goods. Traffic across the
temporary Bailey bridge, just east of Houston, was halted for a while on May 20 as the approaches were threatened.
On May 23, Buck River was reported to have dropped about 2 in. (5 cm) in the past 24 hours. Water was still 6-8 in.
(15-20 cm) deep on some of the secondary roads. Logging operations were affected when a bridge on the Owen Lake
Road south of Houston washed out. In Telkwa, the highway at Eddy Park was under several inches of water. The
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