HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia
HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia
the offer as most residents considered it would cost more to move their homes than the buildings themselves were worth. (The Citizen, December 30, 1968). According to Jim Ormerod, Chairman of the Cottonwood Improvement District, the immediate solution to the flooding problem would involve dredging the Nechako River at the confluence of the Fraser River. He noted that he once counted nine federal and provincial agencies that would have to come to an agreement before the Nechako River could be dredged. January 30-February 2, 1969 Event type: Severe weather. Precipitation: Kildala (34.0 mm/1 day), January 30, 1969; Falls River (218.4 mm/4 days), January 30-February 2, 1969; Prince Rupert M. Circ (55.6 cm (snow)/4 days), January 30-February 2, 1969; Terrace (37.6 cm (snow) /3 days), January 31- February 2, 1969. Source: The Daily News, January 31; February 3, 4, 6, 12 and 13, 1969; Lewis and Moran 1985 (p. 5.100, Storm No. 46). On January 30, a 6-in. (15 cm) snowfall in Prince Rupert and winds gusting to 40 mph. (64 km/h) created blizzard conditions and drifting snow. The (highways) crew foreman reported 22 in. (55 cm) of snow on January 26, making a total of 38 in. (95 cm) on the Rainbow Summit since January 24. Digby Island recorded 10.3 in. (26.2 cm) and Prince Rupert over 12 in. (30.5 cm) of snow. In Prince Rupert, the traffic was paralysed and motorists were urged to leave their vehicles at home. The Prince Rupert airport was closed for several days. Passengers were bussed to and from Terrace. The maximum wind reported was 83 kn. (154 km/h) from Cape St. James on January 31. The lighthouse on Green Island reported 70-kn. (130 km/h) winds on January 31 (Lewis and Moran 1985). In Prince Rupert, three boats sank, one at the new floats: a gillnetter, and a small troller at the Co-op, and another small vessel at Cow Bay. Frozen water pipelines left Prince Rupert and Port Edwards without water. The 18-in. (45 cm) Nelson Brothers’ pipeline through which Prince Rupert normally got its water was blocked, except for a 6-in. (15 cm) aperture. Nelson Brothers own pipeline was clogged by 400 yd. (360 m) of solid ice. On January 31, the Columbia Cellulose Watson Island plant’s 6-in. pipeline supplied the village of Port Edward with water. *1) In Prince Rupert, the snow hampered switching in the CNR yard. Snow pile-ups threatened some older buildings. Telephone communications went out when at Seal Cove ice formed in underground cables entering buildings and cracking them as they expanded. The apartments along Evergreen Drive were without service after January 31. On February 2, 22 in. (55.9 cm) of snow fell on the (Rainbow) Summit, for a total of 38 in. (96.5 cm) since January 31. The Department of Highways was working three shifts to keep Highway 16 between Prince Rupert-Terrace open. On February 6, 10, and 12, slides came down at Amsbury Bluff, 12 mi. (19.2 km) west of Terrace. These slides occurred all in the same spot. Several small slides were reported on February 12. -------------------------------- *1) Columbia Cellulose built the pipeline between Watson Island-Port Edward when they established their plant on the island. This was the first time the line was being used because of ice problems in the village. (The Daily News, January 31, 1969). April 15-18, 1969 Event type: Rockslide. Precipitation: Tasu Sound (88.4 mm/1 day), April 15, 1969; Prince Rupert M. Circ (67.9 mm/3 days) April 16-18, 1969. Source: The Daily News, April 21, 1969. Overnight April 18-19, a rockslide 4 mi. (6.4 km) east of Terrace blocked the rail line. Two diesel locomotives and 11 cars of a 49-car eastbound train were derailed after tearing up 500 ft. (150 m) of track when the eastbound train struck a rock described as “the size of a very large table.” Auxiliaries from Prince Rupert and Prince George and about 50 men worked non-stop at clearing the track. Busses transported train passengers. According to trainmaster Floyd Jessup, “the slide was the worst one since February 1967; that was the last big one we had.” Rail service was restored by noon on April 21. September 17, 1969 Event type: Clay flowslide-Subaqueous slide? Precipitation: Not applicable. Source: The Sunday Sun, September 20, 1969; C.T. Penney (General Manager British Columbia Molybdenum Limited), Preliminary Report Destruction of No. 2 Trailer Park, 1969; Campbell and Skermer 1979. On September 17, shortly after 2 p.m., a ground movement occurred at the new trailer park site at the B.C. Molybdenum mine. It destroyed eight mobile homes, all unoccupied at the time. There were no injuries, but personal effects of five occupants were lost or extensively damaged by salt water. According to a company spokesman, the trailers were salvaged and the damage was slight (The Sunday Sun, September 20, 1969). 104
The slide took place in a small bay just below Picnic Point. It took out a piece of land about 300 ft. (90 m) wide and about 600 ft. (180 m) long measured back from the shoreline. The volume of material displaced by the slide was between 250,000-500,000 yd. 3 (190,000-380,000 m 3 ). The area dropped approximately 20 ft. (6 m) as the underlying blue clay slid into the sea. The soft sensitive marine clay was found in the backscarp, overlain by about 7-8 ft. (2.1-2.4 m) of coarse sand containing shells. In all probability the slide was caused by overloading this soft clay under the weight of gravel fill brought into the area (Campbell and Skermer 1979). A D-8 Caterpillar used in pushing the gravel over a septic tank disappeared and was never found. It was believed to have been covered in mud or carried further out into deep water. Prompt action by the operator saved four people from very serious injury or death. According to calculations based on the initial survey of the slide area approximately 132,000 yd. 3 (100,000 m 3 ) of material slid into the sea, not including 30,000 yd. 3 (23,000 m 3 ) of gravel fill. According to a diver brought in to examine the offshore slide areas, the slide was started by tidal water and river currents undercutting the clay at the drop-off into deep water (C.T. Penney 1969). November 26-December 2, 1969 Event type: Flooding and mudslides. Precipitation: Kildala (184.2 mm/4 days), November 26-29, 1969; Tasu Sound (531.3 mm/6 days), November 26- December 1, 1969; Falls River (214.9 mm/3 days), November 27-29, 1969; Terrace (129.3 mm/3 days), November 28- 30, 1969; Prince Rupert (259.7 mm/6 days), November 27-December 2, 1969; Kitimat 2 (267.2 mm/6 days), November 27-December 2, 1969; Falls River (324.4 mm/6 days), November 27-December 2, 1969; Kitimat 2 (188.4 mm/3 days), November 28-30, 1969; Prince Rupert M. Circ (189.9 mm/3 days), November 27-29, 1969; Tasu Sound (101.6 mm/1 day), December 1, 1969. Source: Terrace Omineca Herald, December 3, 1969; Northern Sentinel, December 3 and 10, 1969; The Daily News, November 29, December 1, 1969; Environment Canada 1991; Ministry of Transportation and Highways. Granite Creek Flooding. Lakelse Lake Area. B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Highways, Terrace; Northwest Hydraulic Consultants Ltd. 1987. Record high temperatures and heavy rain caused flooding, mudslides, and hazardous driving conditions in the Terrace area. Temperatures in Terrace averaged 40.3 o F (4.6 o C) compared with a normal expected high of 31 o F (- 0.5 o C). Terrace reported 5.09 in. (129.3 mm) and Kitimat 6.7 in. (170.2 mm) of rain over the weekend. Prince Rupert and Kitimat set rain records for the month of November, with 20.86 in. (529.8 mm) and 32.86 in. (834.6 mm), respectively. According to George Blakey, the Terrace weather office had a record rainfall of 13.43 in. (342.9 mm) for November. In Terrace, the drainage system was plugged, flooding the Emerson and Park municipal parking lot and the basement of the E.T. Kenney School. On Highway 16 east of Terrace, minor mudslides occurred. A rockslide and some mudslides blocked the section of highway under construction 20 mi. (32 km) east of Prince Rupert. The rockslide, which was 75 ft. (22.5 m) long and quite deep, occurred 2 mi. (3.2 km) east of Rainbow Lake Lodge. On the Cannery Road near Port Edward a small slide occurred. In the Terrace area, Highway 25 was flooded at Williams Creek. On November 30 the Lakelse Lake road was closed because of a washout at the southern approach of Williams Creek. A major flood occurred on Granite Creek, with most of the flow going down South Granite Creek. The flow was described as “a raging torrent.” Observations at the time showed negligible increase in flows in North Granite and Salmon creeks. A huge amount of gravel and debris ended up in South Granite Creek. Heavy damage occurred on lots 4 and 5, and to a lesser extent on lots 1, 2, 3 and 6. When the flow subsided, the Highways Department partially bulldozed the lower portions of South Granite Creek. The creek bottom level was left several feet above normal creek bottom level from the wooden bridge at First Avenue to the lake, a distance of about 300 yd. (270 m). The construction of a dike by a bulldozer saved the trailer park and part of the Lakelse Road (Northwest Hydraulic Consultants 1987). The Columbia Cellulose road was flooded at Beaver Flats. The Twin River Timber, Skoglund Logging, Crown Zellerbach, and other small logging operations closed down on December 1, because of unserviceable logging roads. In the Kitimat area, the Kitimat River rose to the near-flood level. On November 30, the Crown Zellerbach bridge over the Kitimat River was torn out. The Kitimat River below Hirsch Creek on November 30, recorded a maximum instantaneous discharge of 1,540 m 3 /s and a maximum daily discharge of 1,300 m 3 /s (Environment Canada 1991). Minor scour occurred on the Kitamaat Village road. January 15-20, 1970 Event type: Icejam flooding. Precipitation: Not applicable. Source: The Citizen, January 16 and 19, 1970; The Vancouver Sun, January 16, 17, 19 and 20, 1970; Province, January 17 and 21, 1970. On January 15, temperatures of –34 o F (-36.7 o C) caused a sudden formation of ice on the Nechako River and the river levels to rise later that day at a steady 2 in. (5 cm) an hour. The river packed with slush ice caused the water to back up and flood. The Nechako River rose rapidly, at one point 8 in. (20 cm) within 15 minutes. The rising waters caused backflow as the fast flowing Nechako River was running into an ice-jammed Fraser River. On the night 105
- Page 53 and 54: Precipitation: Not applicable. Sour
- Page 55 and 56: force. The storm with winds of 50-6
- Page 57 and 58: Source: The Interior News, December
- Page 59 and 60: December 8-10, 1951 Event type: Rai
- Page 61 and 62: Source: The Omineca Herald, August
- Page 63 and 64: October 11-16, 1954 Event type: Deb
- Page 65 and 66: October 5-14, 1955 Event type: Rock
- Page 67 and 68: Around 5 p.m. on October 14, a rock
- Page 69 and 70: CNR reported rock and snowslides at
- Page 71 and 72: was a contorted track over which a
- Page 73 and 74: The avalanche, which came down 500
- Page 75 and 76: levels. Forty feet (12 m) of riverb
- Page 77 and 78: Precipitation: Falls River (131.8 m
- Page 79 and 80: concentrated on the Bear River Pass
- Page 81 and 82: On February 5, three men narrowly e
- Page 83 and 84: October 15-17, 1962 Event type: Flo
- Page 85 and 86: Precipitation: Not applicable. Sour
- Page 87 and 88: Trailer Court were endangered. On J
- Page 89 and 90: Sweetin River crosses the forestry
- Page 91 and 92: During the spring, high water cause
- Page 93 and 94: Kitimat reported 10.7 in. (271.8 mm
- Page 95 and 96: On January 23, the Bella Coola Rive
- Page 97 and 98: (143.0 mm/2 days), October 22-23, 1
- Page 99 and 100: This third recorded jökulhlaup eve
- Page 101 and 102: eported snowslides at Mile 14.3, 22
- Page 103: Smithers Landing Road to Babine Lak
- Page 107 and 108: Source: Gilbert 1972. On August 1,
- Page 109 and 110: long, which occurred 44 mi. (70.4 k
- Page 111 and 112: the slide area. Both drivers walked
- Page 113 and 114: September 14-15, 1972 Event type: D
- Page 115 and 116: Power outages occurred in Prince Ru
- Page 117 and 118: The coroner’s inquiry found that
- Page 119 and 120: Construction of a new tramline and
- Page 121 and 122: idge construction project near Terr
- Page 123 and 124: *2) Addendum 1 of TFL #1 provided f
- Page 125 and 126: federal tidal surveyor Bob Brown, h
- Page 127 and 128: hat as a scoop, he managed to reach
- Page 129 and 130: According to the report, it is prob
- Page 131 and 132: (Environment Canada 1991). It rose
- Page 133 and 134: Highway 37 between Kitwanga-Cranber
- Page 135 and 136: A special camp was rented, fitted,
- Page 137 and 138: maximum discharge rate of 1,200 m 3
- Page 139 and 140: Precipitation: Nass Camp (38.6 mm/1
- Page 141 and 142: Prince Rupert was without power for
- Page 143 and 144: Between July 31-August 2, Dawson Cr
- Page 145 and 146: 1984; Kemano (98.0 mm/2 days), Nove
- Page 147 and 148: Precipitation: Sewell Inlet (121.0
- Page 149 and 150: speculation and evidence to suggest
- Page 151 and 152: log home, which was undamaged but t
- Page 153 and 154: At Commotion Creek, significant dam
the <strong>of</strong>fer as most residents considered it would cost more to move their homes than the buildings themselves were<br />
worth. (The Citizen, December 30, 1968). According to Jim Ormerod, Chairman <strong>of</strong> the Cottonwood Improvement<br />
District, the immediate solution to the flooding problem would involve dredging the Nechako River at the confluence<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Fraser River. He noted that he once counted nine federal and provincial agencies that would have to come to an<br />
agreement before the Nechako River could be dredged.<br />
January 30-February 2, 1969<br />
Event type: Severe weather.<br />
Precipitation: Kildala (34.0 mm/1 day), January 30, 1969; Falls River (218.4 mm/4 days), January 30-February 2, 1969; Prince<br />
Rupert M. Circ (55.6 cm (snow)/4 days), January 30-February 2, 1969; Terrace (37.6 cm (snow) /3 days), January 31-<br />
February 2, 1969.<br />
Source: The Daily News, January 31; February 3, 4, 6, 12 and 13, 1969; Lewis and Moran 1985 (p. 5.100, Storm No.<br />
46).<br />
On January 30, a 6-in. (15 cm) snowfall in Prince Rupert and winds gusting to 40 mph. (64 km/h) created<br />
blizzard conditions and drifting snow. The (highways) crew foreman reported 22 in. (55 cm) <strong>of</strong> snow on January 26,<br />
making a total <strong>of</strong> 38 in. (95 cm) on the Rainbow Summit since January 24. Digby Island recorded 10.3 in. (26.2 cm)<br />
and Prince Rupert over 12 in. (30.5 cm) <strong>of</strong> snow. In Prince Rupert, the traffic was paralysed and motorists were urged<br />
to leave their vehicles at home. The Prince Rupert airport was closed for several days. Passengers were bussed to and<br />
from Terrace.<br />
The maximum wind reported was 83 kn. (154 km/h) from Cape St. James on January 31. The lighthouse on<br />
Green Island reported 70-kn. (130 km/h) winds on January 31 (Lewis and Moran 1985). In Prince Rupert, three boats<br />
sank, one at the new floats: a gillnetter, and a small troller at the Co-op, and another small vessel at Cow Bay.<br />
Frozen water pipelines left Prince Rupert and Port Edwards without water. The 18-in. (45 cm) Nelson<br />
Brothers’ pipeline through which Prince Rupert normally got its water was blocked, except for a 6-in. (15 cm)<br />
aperture. Nelson Brothers own pipeline was clogged by 400 yd. (360 m) <strong>of</strong> solid ice. On January 31, the <strong>Columbia</strong><br />
Cellulose Watson Island plant’s 6-in. pipeline supplied the village <strong>of</strong> Port Edward with water. *1)<br />
In Prince Rupert, the snow hampered switching in the CNR yard. Snow pile-ups threatened some older<br />
buildings. Telephone communications went out when at Seal Cove ice formed in underground cables entering<br />
buildings and cracking them as they expanded. The apartments along Evergreen Drive were without service after<br />
January 31. On February 2, 22 in. (55.9 cm) <strong>of</strong> snow fell on the (Rainbow) Summit, for a total <strong>of</strong> 38 in. (96.5 cm)<br />
since January 31.<br />
The Department <strong>of</strong> Highways was working three shifts to keep Highway 16 between Prince Rupert-Terrace<br />
open. On February 6, 10, and 12, slides came down at Amsbury Bluff, 12 mi. (19.2 km) west <strong>of</strong> Terrace. These slides<br />
occurred all in the same spot. Several small slides were reported on February 12.<br />
--------------------------------<br />
*1) <strong>Columbia</strong> Cellulose built the pipeline between Watson Island-Port Edward when they established their plant on the<br />
island. This was the first time the line was being used because <strong>of</strong> ice problems in the village. (The Daily News, January<br />
31, 1969).<br />
April 15-18, 1969<br />
Event type: Rockslide.<br />
Precipitation: Tasu Sound (88.4 mm/1 day), April 15, 1969; Prince Rupert M. Circ (67.9 mm/3 days) April 16-18,<br />
1969.<br />
Source: The Daily News, April 21, 1969.<br />
Overnight April 18-19, a rockslide 4 mi. (6.4 km) east <strong>of</strong> Terrace blocked the rail line. Two diesel<br />
locomotives and 11 cars <strong>of</strong> a 49-car eastbound train were derailed after tearing up 500 ft. (150 m) <strong>of</strong> track when the<br />
eastbound train struck a rock described as “the size <strong>of</strong> a very large table.” Auxiliaries from Prince Rupert and Prince<br />
George and about 50 men worked non-stop at clearing the track. Busses transported train passengers. According to<br />
trainmaster Floyd Jessup, “the slide was the worst one since February 1967; that was the last big one we had.” Rail<br />
service was restored by noon on April 21.<br />
September 17, 1969<br />
Event type: Clay flowslide-Subaqueous slide?<br />
Precipitation: Not applicable.<br />
Source: The Sunday Sun, September 20, 1969; C.T. Penney (General Manager <strong>British</strong> <strong>Columbia</strong> Molybdenum<br />
Limited), Preliminary Report Destruction <strong>of</strong> No. 2 Trailer Park, 1969; Campbell and Skermer 1979.<br />
On September 17, shortly after 2 p.m., a ground movement occurred at the new trailer park site at the B.C.<br />
Molybdenum mine. It destroyed eight mobile homes, all unoccupied at the time. There were no injuries, but personal<br />
effects <strong>of</strong> five occupants were lost or extensively damaged by salt water. According to a company spokesman, the<br />
trailers were salvaged and the damage was slight (The Sunday Sun, September 20, 1969).<br />
104
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