HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

long, which occurred 44 mi. (70.4 km) west of Terrace, blocked both the highway and rail line. Two smaller slides
came down about one mile (1.6 km) on either side of the large one. Train service was expected to resume late on
November 20 or on November 21.
The storm intensity between Prince Rupert-Terrace was much greater than at these weather-reporting
stations. The precipitation was estimated at 6 in. (150 mm) for the 24-hour period on November 18. Between Mile 7-
54 previous to November 18, there was about 12 in. (30.5 cm) of snow on the ground up to the 400-ft. (120 m) level.
The 2,000-8,500 ft. (600-2,550 m) level had an estimated 4-10 ft. (1.2-3 m) of snow.
On the Kitimat subdivision between Terrace-Kitimat, a 10-car derailment occurred 3.7 mi. (5.9 km) east of
Terrace. There were no injuries.
December 15-19, 1971
Event type: Snow avalanches.
Precipitation: Prince Rupert M. Circ (63.3 mm/2 days), December 18-19, 1971.
Source: The Daily Herald, December 17, 1971; J. Mekechuck, pers. comm. 1989. CN Railway, Edmonton, Alta.; B.C.
Ministry of Transportation and Highways 1980.
On December 15, Terrace reported 5 in. (12.7 cm) of snow. On December 16, snowslides came down at
Mile 43.6 and 43.7. At slide path Split at 69.9 km, the westbound extra train No. 9072 hit a snowslide on December
16. Two diesel units and 12 cars derailed. The two units and most of the cars remained upright. Eleven cars were
blocking the highway at Mile 43.6. On December 19, CNR reported several slides at Mile 50.0 and a small slide at
Mile 47.0. The rail line was closed for 15.5 hours.
January 5, 1972
Event type: Non-fatal snow avalanche.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: Williams and Armstrong 1984 (p. 1).
On January 5, an avalanche hit a bus at Mile 11 on the Hyder-Tide Lake highway. The bus struck was the
third of three buses carrying dayshift workers to the Granduc Tide Lake Mine. The vehicle was pushed off the road,
toppled on to its side and slid 40 ft. (12 m) down the embankment. Four passengers were injured. Meanwhile an
avalanche on the road ahead trapped the first two busses. All stranded passengers were transferred to the Stewart
hospital where they were examined and released. The road was reopened several days later and mining activities
continued (Williams and Armstrong 1984).
January 13-17, 1972
Event type: Snow avalanches.
Precipitation: Tasu Sound (154.7 mm/2 days), January 13-14, 1972; Prince Rupert M. Circ (176.3 mm/3 days), January
13-15, 1972; Falls River (230.2 mm/5 days), January 13-17, 1972; Prince Rupert M. Circ (106.2 mm/1 day), January
14, 1972; Tasu Sound (112.5 mm/1 day), January 14, 1972; Kemano (99.1 mm/2 days), January 14-15, 1972; Kildala
(74.4 mm/2 days), January 14-15, 1972; Bella Coola (89.1 mm/2 days), January 14-15, 1972; Prince Rupert (101.4
mm/2 days), January 14-15, 1972; Kitimat 2 (146.6 mm/2 days), January 14-15, 1972; Kitimat Townsite (89.4 mm/2
days), January 14-15, 1972; Terrace (66.8 mm/2 days), January 14-15, 1972; Ocean Falls (230.7 mm/2 days), January
14-15, 1972.
Source: The Daily News, January 17, 19, 20, 24, 26 and 27; February 4, 8, 17, 25 and 29, 1972; The Daily Herald,
January 31, February 4 and 9, 1972; The Northern Sentinel, January 19, 1972; The Vancouver Sun, January 17, 1972;
J. Mekechuck, pers. comm. 1989. CN Railway Edmonton, Alta.; B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Highways 1980.
In January, Highway 16 Prince Rupert-Terrace was closed for nearly two weeks by snowslides. It had been
blocked since January 15. It reopened to two-way traffic on January 30. Starting January 26, two convoys a day
traveled the route. Several slides came down between Mile 35-Mile 50. The largest slide was 1 mi. (1.6 km) long and
15 ft. (4.5 m) deep. The clearing of the slide at Mile 43 had to be halted because of a second slide coming down. Soon
after being reopened, the highway was closed again. On January 28, the first plane since January 16 landed on the
Terrace airport.
Between February 2-4, 21 slides came down on a 20-mi. (32-km) stretch of highway. On February 4, more
slides threatened Highway 16 and the rail line. Overnight February 7-8, slides came down near Mile 35, 43, and 51,
closing the highway. On February 8, the road opened for one-lane traffic only. One train was hit by a slide, but no
injuries were reported.
On February 9, the Terrace area reported 15 in. (38 cm) of snow in a 24-hour period. Early on February 15,
a new slide, 600 ft. (180 m) long and 20 ft. (6 m) deep came down at Mile 50.4, closing down the highway and rail
line. The Greyhound morning bus was cancelled.
The rail line between Prince Rupert-Terrace was closed for 12 days. The tracks were hit by a series of 20
slides, but apparently did not suffer any damage. On January 14, an eastbound snowplow with two diesel units got
struck at Mile 50.3. Later some snowslides buried it. It was pulled free on January 18. A snowplow consisting of
three units, caboose, and snowplow bunk derailed at Shames because of heavy snow. A snowslide came down at slide
109