HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

Precipitation: Nass Camp (38.6 mm/1 day), December 7, 1980; Stewart A (163.7 mm/5 days), December 7-11, 1980;
Falls River (265.6 mm/6 days), December 7-12, 1980; Salvus Camp (209.0 mm/4 days), December 7-10, 1980; Falls
River (190.8 mm/3 days), December 8-10, 1980; Ocean Falls (251.0 mm/2 days), December 9-10, 1980; Bella Coola
(320.4 mm/7 days), December 9-15, 1980; Prince Rupert (184.1 mm/3 days), December 8-10, 1980; Kitimat 2 (424.4
mm/8 days), December 8-15, 1980; Tasu Sound (173.4 mm/5 days), December 10-14, 1980; Sewell Inlet (258.9 mm/5
days), December 10-14, 1980; Hartley Bay (511.8 mm/6 days), December 10-15, 1980; Pallant Creek (176.8 mm/5
days), December 10-14, 1980; Ocean Falls (363.4 mm/3 days), December 13-15, 1980; Kemano (93.1 mm/2 days),
November 14-15, 1980.
Source: Terrace-Kitimat Daily Herald, December 17, 1980; Northern Sentinel, December 11 and 18, 1980; The
Province, December 18 and 19, 1980; January 7, 1981; Times Colonist, December 15 and 17, 1980; B.C. Ministry of
Transportation and Highways 1982 (p. 339); Environment Canada 1988; Environment Canada 1991.
In mid-December a heavy snowfall of over 1,000 (100 cm?) cm occurred in a 24-hour period near Stewart. It
resulted in avalanches releasing and covering about 2 km of highway in the Bear Pass area. Single-lane traffic was
restored after a 10-hour closure. (B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Highways, Terrace, 1982)
The Bella Coola area was hit with severe flooding caused by a combination of heavy rains and unseasonably
warm temperatures melting snowcaps off mountains on either side of the valley. Late on December 9, the area’s only
airstrip, 21 km east of Bella Coola at Hagensborg, was submerged.
Preliminary estimates put the damage at up to $5 million. According to Highways minister Alex Fraser, this
included about $1 million damage to watercourses, and “$500,000 or better” to the highway system. Damage to homes
was estimated at up to $3 million. The damage estimate for repair and bank protection work was estimated at
$500,000. Environment minister Stephen Rogers promised financial aid to residents affected by flooding. Two nearby
logging camps sustained an additional estimated damage of $1 million. *1)
On December 9, the Bella Coola River broke its banks, carving out new channels in several locations. Over
60 families had to leave their homes in the low-lying subdivisions east of Bella Coola. Thirty homes sustained flood
damage and one house was swept away. Elsewhere it was reported that more than 40 families were evacuated and 46
homes flooded, 10 of which severely.
Highway 20, the only highway link to the remote community, sustained an estimated $1 million and was
closed. Three bridges were closed and a fourth was teetering. The Bella Coola airport, closed due to mass flooding,
reopened on December 17.
The Nusatsum River flooded the rock dyke that was built in September 1980 and wiped out a house. The
river cut a new channel through the Satterwhite home to a depth of about 2 m. The dyke had been built after a previous
flood submerged the main floor of the house.
On December 16, the Bella Coola River above Burnt Bridge Creek recorded a maximum instantaneous
discharge of 725 m 3 /s and a maximum daily discharge of 701 m 3 /s. On the same day the Salloompt River near
Hagensborg recorded a maximum instantaneous discharge of 241 m 3 /s and a maximum daily discharge of 141 m 3 /s,
both these being extremes for the period of record (Environment Canada 1991). With colder temperatures on
December 17, water levels receded dramatically. Though still beyond its banks, the Bella Coola River was expected to
be in it original channel on December 18.
For Isabel Edwards, 75, who had lived in the Bella Coola River valley for 48 years, this was just another in a
long series of floods. *2) Her house, built in 1910, miraculously escaped damage. But floodwaters took out her
driveway, all the topsoil of the just plowed hayfield, and left her with a debris-covered lawn.
Two logging camps near Owikeno Lake, 145 km south of Bella Coola, were wiped out when the lake level in
the lake rose 6 m. On December 16, Owikeno Lake at Rivers Inlet recorded a maximum instantaneous water level of
5.074 m and an estimated maximum daily water level of 4.870 m (Environment Canada 1988). The Owikeno Indian
Reserve, a community of 55 inhabitants was threatened. One family was evacuated.
According to preliminary findings, the December 1980 flooding caused a loss of at least 50% of the salmon
in the Kitimat River. (The Province, January 7, 1981).
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*1) The provincial government agreed to provide $2 million for homes damaged by the flooding and $1 million to
repair watercourses and $500,000 to repair Highway 20. Cabinet also earmarked $500,000 to cover flood damage
elsewhere in the province.
*2) The previous peak flood had occurred in 1968.
December 16-17, 1980
Event type: Icejam flooding.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: The Citizen, December 17, 18 and 19, 1980; The Province, December 18, 1980; Times Colonist, December 19, 1980.
On December 17, a 5-km long icejam in the Fraser River near Penny, about 90 km east of Prince George,
backed up the water and caused flooding. Ice flows plugged sloughs and creeks and began to build up on gravel banks.
The flooding started during early morning with the river rising 30 cm an hour.
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