HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

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
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