HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

Construction of a new tramline and primary concentrate plant at the Cassiar Asbestos Corp. mine was
delayed, because steel supplies needed for the project were held up at Dawson Creek. The problems were compounded
by an earlier series of washouts that closed down the Alaska Highway north of Fort Nelson. Helicopters were used to
ferry people trapped in Cassiar to Watson Lake and to distribute food to tourists stranded along a 40-mi. (64 km)
stretch of the Alaska Highway.
By July 26, only 11 days after the rains started, the Alaska Highway was open to two-way traffic. Reconstruction
work continued: several bridges, including the one across racing River, had to be rebuilt. *1)
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*1) Most of the work was completed by freeze-up in 1974, leaving only a limited amount of resurfacing and bridgework for
the following year. The entire operation cost the Canadian government more than $1.3 million (Coates 1992).
September 29-October 2, 1974
Event type: Debris slides.
Precipitation: Hartley Bay (126.7 mm/1 day), September 29, 1974; Tasu Sound (97.1 mm/2 days), September 29-30,
1974; Sewell Inlet (166.4 mm/3 days), September 29-October 1, 1974; Kitimat Townsite (84.1 mm/2 days), September
30-October 1, 1974; Falls River (111.6 mm/2 days), September 30-October 1, 1974; Kildala (86.4 mm/3 days),
September 30-October 2, 1974; Nass Camp (47.2 mm/1 day), October 1, 1974; Aiyansh (48.0 mm/1 day), October 1,
1974; Terrace (55.6 mm/2 days), October 1-2, 1974.
Source: Northern Sentinel, October 3, 1974; Meziadin Environmental Advisory Team 1975 (Vol. 4 Appendix C 1.1);
Schwab 1983.
In the two-day period between September 30-October 1, the Terrace airport recorded 2.77 in. (70.4 mm) of
rain, Rosswood had 1.89 in. (48.0 mm), and Aiyansh 2.99 in. (75.95 mm) of rain (Meziadin Environmental Advisory
Team 1975). In Kitimat, a 50-55 mph (80.5-88.5 km/h) gale caused heavy property damage and an 8 to 10-hour power
cut. Telephone service to Kitamaat Village was interrupted.
On the Queen Charlotte Islands, widespread slope failures occurred, many in the Rennell Sound area. The
weather station in the QC Timber camp at Rennell Sound recorded 215 mm of rain in four days. *1)
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*1) Rennell Sound weather station Camp Shields Bay, Atmospheric and Environmental Service Canada operated from
September 1974 through November 1975. The station was located 10 km from the Gospel Point station. The camp
location generally experiences higher rainfall during storms than the Gospel Point station (Schwab 1983).
October 5-9, 1974
Event type: Flooding and debris slides.
Precipitation: Hartley Bay (357.4 mm/3 days), October 5-7, 1974; Nass Camp (151.3 mm/4 days), October 5-8, 1974;
Falls River (256.5 mm/4 days), October 5-8, 1974; Prince Rupert (306.1 mm/5 days), October 5-9, 1974; Kemano
(42.4 mm/1 day), October 6, 1974; Kildala (74.7 mm/2 days), October 6-7, 1974; Kitimat 2 (127.7 mm/3 days),
October 6-8, 1974; Sewell Inlet (407.9 mm/3 days), October 6-8, 1974; Tasu Sound (335.9 mm/3 days), October 6-8,
1974; Aiyansh (103.9 mm/2 days), October 7-8, 1974; Nass Camp (115.3 mm/2 days), October 7-8, 1974; Sandspit A
(87.3 mm/3 days), October 7-9, 1974; Masset (90.4 mm/3 days), October 7-9, 1974; Langara (45.0 mm/1 day), October
8, 1974.
Source: The Daily News, October 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, 1974; The Sentinel, October 9 and 16, 1974; Northern Sentinel,
October 10, 1974; The Province, October 12, 1974; Meziadin Environmental Advisory Team 1975 (Vol. 4 Appendix C
1); B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Highways 1976 (p. B 127); Environment Canada 1991.
Between October 1-10, Prince Rupert recorded 15 in. (381 mm) of rain. On October 8-9, Prince Rupert
recorded 5.35 in. (135.9 mm) of rain in 24 hours. As the freezing level in the mountain basins of the Skeena and Nass
rivers was down at 2,500 ft. (750 m), a heavy snowpack was forming (Meziadin Environmental Advisory Team 1975).
High river levels and several washouts in the Bell-Irving area closed Cassiar Highway 37 from Kitwanga to
Bob Quinn Lake. Bridges in the Nass River valley flooded or washed out. Numerous washouts and slides closed the
Stewart-Meziadin road. Bitter Creek bridge was damaged and had to be reconstructed. Minor flooding occurred in
Kitsault and Alice Arm. At Alice Arm, 60 mi. (96 km) northeast of Prince Rupert, several houses and many
unoccupied shacks were washed away. The Nass Road was reported washed out in two locations.
Prolonged periods of torrential rain caused severe mud and rock slides at both levels of the Bear Pass. On
October 5-6, the road closed and again on the night of October 7 and the morning of October 8. Water cascading down
the rockface and across the Stewart-Hyder, Alaska road brought down rocks early on October 8, restricting traffic.
Stewart suffered flooding after two culverts at Rainey Creek and one on Victoria Street near the Bank of
Montreal could not handle the volume of water running off. According to Mayor McLeod, “never in the last 40 years
had so much rain fallen in so short a time.”
Around Terrace, the Twin Rivers Timber road north of Kitsumkalum Lake was closed. Nass Camp flooded
and the entire Nass area was without power. A mudslide took out a transmission tower at the south end of Lava Lake.
There was flooding and road grade erosion along the South Seaskinnish Creek near Nass Camp. Numerous grade
washouts occurred in the Nass Valley as far north as Meziadin Lake. Wooden bridges across Alice Creek, Little Cedar
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