HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

iography about James Benjamin McCullagh, minister with the Church Missionary Society at Aiyansh: “September
1917 was an unusually wet month, October was still more so, 16 in. (406.4 mm) having been reckoned as the downfall.
Before the melted snow came from the mountains the [Nass] river was already in full spate and absolutely unnavigable.
By the middle of November the river was awful to behold. On the afternoon of Sunday, the 18th, tidings came that the
river had broken through near Gitlakdamiks and was rushing down behind Aiyansh.... By Tuesday morning there were
over 10 ft. (3 m) of water in the house.... By Wednesday the flood began to show signs of abating... they found the
mission house [at Aiyansh] in a deplorable condition ... everything inside was ruined, including the winter’s supply of
provisions which had only just been stored. The missionary’s printing office was completely submerged ... his
precious books, including the backwoods library, were reduced to a muddy pulp. Some of the other houses in the
village had been carried away entirely by the flood. The sawmill and many of the buildings were swept away and the
debris scattered all over the country.” In order to avoid future flooding through the breach made in the bank below
Gitlakdamiks, it was decided to move the houses from Aiyansh to Gitlakdamiks. In turn each house was pulled down,
the lumber carted on sleighs along the Gospel road and rebuilt on a new allotted space. The removal of the mission
house was delayed till enough money could be raised for the move. The people suffered much from the cold winter
and the lack of proper food, as they had no means of replenishing their potato stock of the barrels and boxes of
provisions destroyed or carried away by the flood. When the news of the disaster reached England early in 1918,
sympathy and substantial help came from many quarters (Moeran 1923).
In the Bulkley Valley, a “hurricane,” as described by Alex “Doc” Clapperton, inspector of the road
construction near Telkwa, downed countless trees and damaged many ranch buildings. This “greatest gale in the
Bulkley Valley” demolished the new barn at the Sealy Ranch. The gale also did considerable damage in the town of
Smithers, breaking windows and upsetting buildings. Much timber was blown down as well. Telephone and telegraph
wires were put out of commission. High waters in the Bulkley River caused some damage to one of the supports of the
Telkwa River bridge. The bridge over the Bulkley River at Telkwa was badly damaged. All the extra supports that
were put in during the summer of 1916 washed away. Some smaller bridges further upstream were reported washed
out or damaged. Roads through the Telkwa district were almost impassable.
At New Hazelton, high water and driftwood threatened the new bridge over the Bulkley River. On November
20, water levels started to recede slightly. Further upstream from New Hazelton two government bridges, at Kispiox
and the Skeena River bridge were rendered unsafe. It was proposed to move the old ferry from the Bulkley River to
the Skeena River, where it would cross from the old bank building. On the Roche de Boule tramline three towers were
blown down, and a horse belonging to mining surveyor Dalby B. Morkill was blown over a cliff.
On the Queen Charlotte Islands the stormy weather lasted for two weeks. T. Deasy of Masset described it in
The Daily News as “One fair day out of 14 bad ones.” Serious slides occurred on the Woden River (Watun Creek), 5
mi. (8 km) south of Masset. They wiped out a hotel, a dwelling belonging to Rev. Fr. McDonald, and a store once
used by Grange. None of these buildings were occupied at the time. The launch Deeban with three Native Indians,
Stephen Ryan, and Peter and Richmond Robertson from Metlakatla went missing while searching for another Indian
boat missing since November 1. The latter returned safely soon after the other boat left. On November 8, pieces of the
launch and the rowboat in tow were found on the south shore of Dundas Island. On November 16, Stephen Ryan, the
lone survivor, was found. He had been living on rainwater and two potatoes for 16 days.
1917
Event type: Icejam flooding.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: Prince George Citizen, November 29; December 2, 1921.
In 1917, an icejam at the junction of the Nechako and Fraser rivers caused flooding in low-lying portions of
Prince George. The flooding was described as “slightly less serious” than the icejam flooding of November 1921. *1)
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*1) In his January 1915 report to the government, Col. Thompson noted that the townsite of Prince George or that portion of
it located on what he termed “the Nechaco Flats” would be liable to damage from the action of water and ice under certain
climatic conditions. “Some persons report extreme high water and ice shoves occurring frequently about the first of January.
I am inclined to the view that at great intervals, the territory is more endangered by ice shoves and resultant high water
overflow, than by the June-July freshets. Like many northern streams, the Nechaco and the Fraser are both subject to three
forms of ice: sheet, frazil and anchor. The junction of these rivers occurs just at the northeast of the townsite. The Nechaco
coming from the northwest and the Fraser coming in general course from the southeast. The scourings of the Nechaco Flats
and the channel surrounding Connaught Park (making an island of a large part of Prince George, a part of South Fort George
together with a part of the lands of the Hudson’s Bay Company) bear testimony to the battle of the waters of the two rivers,
either in ice throes or in spring flood. …. The river we imagine frozen from shore to shore and the junction of the two and
down to a trifle below the railroad bridge, then generally open through the narrow section to below South Fort George, then
closed again. Owing to windy weather frazil ice will have been forming for some time on the rapids above, in both rivers.
This floating down, adheres to the underside of the sheet across the river, slowly constricting the channel. For several clear
cold nights anchor ice forms. A slightly warmer day comes, when the anchor ice rises, and, floating down, adds to the
underburden and overburden of the sheet ice, and the water of the river must find some other outlet than the ordinary river
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