HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

Industries lumber mill, which employed about 250 people, might be forced to close. Barge service down the Nelson
River and the mining industry also suffered due to the rail break.
On August 3, rail service between Fort St. John-Fort Nelson was scheduled to resume after Fontas River
washed out the line in July. However, the opening date was further delayed to the first week of October. Rain and
mushy muskeg terrain hampered the repair work.
September 25-26, 1973
Event type: Flooding.
Precipitation: Falls River (51.8 mm/1 day), September 25, 1973; Sewell Inlet (58.2 mm/1 day), September 25, 1973;
Tasu Sound (49.8 mm/1 day), September 25, 1973; Kemano (91.7 mm/2 days), September 25-26, 1973; Kildala (81.5
mm/2 days), September 25-26, 1973; Bella Coola (103.1 mm/2 days) September 25-26, 1973.
Source: Environment Canada 1991; Church 1983 (pp. 169-180); Church 1988 (p. 226).
On September 27, the Bella Coola River above Brunt Creek recorded a maximum instantaneous discharge of
682 m 3 /s and a maximum daily discharge of 541 m 3 /s (Environment Canada 1991). During this flood in the Bella
Coola River, major destabilization occurred in the Big Bend reach. Upstream from Tastsquan Creek fan, the “big
bend” near Bella Coola village was cut off when sediment filled the former channel, which had persisted for nearly a
century (Church 1983; Church 1988).
January 14-21, 1974
Event type: Fatal snow avalanche.
Precipitation: Kildala (281.2 mm/8 days), January 14-21, 1974; Kitimat Townsite (320.1 mm/8 days), January 14-21,
1974; Kemano (175.2 mm/3 days), January 16-18, 1974; Falls River (191.7 mm/6 days), January 16-21, 1974; Sewell
Inlet (79.2 mm/1 day), January 17, 1974; Terrace (99.1 mm/1 day), January 17, 1974; Kitimat Townsite (96.5 mm/1
day), January 17, 1974; Prince Rupert M. Circ (35.1 mm/1 day), January 17, 1974.
Source: The Daily News, January 22 and 23, 1974, September 9, 1981; The Northern Sentinel, January 24, 1974; The
Herald, January 23, 1974; The Vancouver Sun, January 22 and 31, 1974; March 21, 1974; The Province, January 26,
1974; Terrace Standard, February 17, 1999; January 21, 2004; Times Colonist, January 26, 2003; File 49-20-0 Letter,
January 29, 1974, D.D. Godfrey (Reg. Hwy. Eng.) to R. G. Harvey (Ass. Dept. Min., Victoria). B.C. Ministry of
Transportation and Highways, Terrace; Phillips 1990 (p. 33); B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Highways 1980;
Godfrey et al. 1974; Stethem and Schaerer 1979 (pp. 89-93).
On January 17, 118.1 cm of snow fell in 24 hours at Lakelse Lake near Terrace, setting the Canadian record
for the greatest snowfall in one day (Phillips 1990). *1) Terrace reported 99.1 cm of snow on January 17 and 40 cm of
snow on January 22. The Terrace airport recorded 237 cm of snow in 11 days. Before January 14, 172 in. (4.37 m) of
snow fell. The heavy snowfall was followed by a sharp rise in temperature. During the week before to the storm, the
temperatures were very low, rising to 0 o C during the storm.
On January 22, a “dry” avalanche came down 28 mi. (45 km) west of Terrace. It wiped out a service station
and motel-restaurant complex North Route along Highway 16. The service station had been built in 1964. It was
located in the run-out zone of large avalanches that would probably occur once in about 15 years (Stethem and
Schaerer 1979). According to a National Research Council report, tree growth patterns and broken wood in the area
demonstrated that avalanches had reached the highway through two narrow gaps before the café was built. The North
Route buildings stood directly in the path that dry, rapidly moving avalanches would be expected to take.
“Unfortunately, the hazard was not recognised when the service center was built,” the report states. “And later, when
avalanches did come close, the warning went unheeded.” (Terrace Standard, January 21, 2004). Several vehicles were
also buried. Seven people were killed. *2)
The snow mass was estimated at 400 ft. (120 m) long, 100 ft. (30 m) wide, and 30 ft. (9 m) deep. The
avalanche traveled 500-600 ft. (150-180 m) down and 1,000-1,500 ft. (300-450 m) across. D.D. Godfrey, Highways
Department regional engineer for Burnaby, estimated the speed at which it traveled to be over 100 mph (160 km/h).
The estimated speed of the avalanche when it hit the buildings was 108 km/h (Stethem and Schaerer 1979).
The avalanche snow ranged from 1-8 m in depth and was strewn with housing debris and trees up to 0.5 m in
diameter. The average depth was 1 m, but the snow in the area surrounding the buildings was up to 8 m deep. The
avalanche ran out on the ice of the Skeena River, with the tip of the deposit 250 m past the service centre. On several
trees between the railroad and the river, snow was plastered on the north side of the tree trunks up to 30 ft. (9 m) above
the tracks. Snowfalls at the accident site are usually greater than those at the Terrace airport. At the North Route site,
the snowfall was probably greater by one third (Stethem and Schaerer 1979).
Earlier that morning, a Canada Post mail truck driver and only survivor, heard “a bunch of noise rattling
outside.” He was told not to worry as “it’s way up in the hills.” Just after 8 a.m., the slide hit. “I heard it – just like a
cannon shot,” he said. It pushed him through the wall of the coffee shop and 50 ft. (15 m) beyond.
During the rescue operations, a smaller slide occurred about a mile (1.6 km) from the disaster site. At 2:45
p.m., almost seven hours later the first body was found under 3.6 m of snow. Zobel was the second victim found, and
he would be the only survivor. It was nearly 20 hours after the slide hit that the last bodies were found. The only other
survivor was a husky. The dog was under a building and crawled out a couple of days later.
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