HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

A heavy snowfall of more than 5 ft. (1.5 m) earlier in December followed by thaw and three days of rain
melted the ice and then it froze again. At least two families were evacuated. According to Barry Akehurst, regional
director of the Provincial Emergency Program, the water was rising at a rate of 0.5 m an hour. The ice floe was about
3-4 mi. (4.8-6.4 km) long.
The low-lying area around Penny was covered with ice “as far as the eye can see.” The river appeared to be
solid for miles. On December 18, though the water level in the river went down about 5 in. (12.5 cm), was about 12-14
ft. (3.6-4.2 m) above normal. It was approaching the 1936 flood level, which was “the worst anyone could remember.”
On December 19, the icejam was 6 km long and blocked the river both up and downstream of Penny. Fifteen
cars parked on the south side of the river were flooded to their windshields and several boats were lost to river ice.
More flooding was reported west of Penny near Aleza Lake. Icejams also cut a road near the community of Upper
Fraser. Floodwaters washed away materials and tools at a bridge construction site behind the Northwood Pulp and Timber
Ltd. behind its mill near Prince George. *1) Here, floodwaters went over the mark left by the spring freshet. The cofferdam
for the bridge’s third pier was also damaged and was covered with muddy water.
Worst damage done by the abnormal winter thaw occurred on December 16 on the Herrick River about 100 km
east of Prince George. A tributary of the McGregor River went up 1.5 m, washing away parts of a bridge being built and
dumping a crane into the water.
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*1) The bridge is to be used to cut the hauling distance from the logging areas to the mill, bypassing routes that now
take through city streets. About 16 km and almost an hour’s travelling will be saved (Times Colonist, December 19,
1980).
December 23-27, 1980
Event type: Rain-on-snow flooding?
Precipitation: Not available.
Source: B.E. MacFayden. Rivers Subsection, Water Mgt. Branch. Southwest British Columbia. December 1980
Flooding Squamish to D’Arcy Area.
Between December 25-27, southwestern British Columbia experienced mild temperatures and moderate to
high rainfall on most areas below 5,000 ft. (1,500 m). This caused very rapid snowmelt and high runoff. Overtopping
of river and creek banks caused extensive damage to property. The degree of damage prompted the Province of British
Columbia to extend aid under the PEP program to those within an area described as follows, “A line extending east
from the northern tip of Vancouver Island following the 51 st parallel to its junction with 120 degrees West longitude
then south to the 49 th parallel then to Vancouver Island and including the Bella Coola Valley.”
Just before south western British Columbia was hit by a severe storm, Bella Coola experienced what the
federal government called a “separate event and not shareable.” The first $350,000 of the Bella Coola restoration was
done under O.I.C. 2827 and the balance under O.I.C. 2861, which was later transferred by PEP to O.I.C. 2827. Total
expenditure for Bella Coola: $726,208.77 (expenditure excluding above component of O.I.C. 2861: $376, 215.66;and
$349,993.11.
September 28, 1981
Event type: Fatal mudslide.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: The Vancouver Sun, September 29, 1981.
On September 28, a mudslide killed a 25-year old man working on the new BC Rail line near the Tumbler Ridge
coal site. The victim was working across a creek and upslope from a cliff face that broke away. The slide rolled across the
creek and continued about 30 m up the slope. The body was found under a metre of mud about 5 m from where he had been
working.
January 5-12, 1982
Event type: Snow (fatal) avalanches.
Precipitation: Nass Camp (230.4 mm/4 days), January 5-8, 1982; Salvus Camp (174.0 mm/4 days), January 5-8, 1982;
Tasu Sound (128.1 mm/2 days), January 6-7, 1982; Aiyansh (191.0 mm/3 days), January 6-8, 1982; Prince Rupert
(152.6 mm/3 days), January 6-8, 1982; Ocean Falls (240.4 mm/3 days), January 6-8, 1982; Bella Coola (101.6 mm/1
day), January 7, 1982; Prince Rupert M. Circ (355.0 mm/7 days), January 6-12, 1982; Langara (76.0 mm/2 days),
January 7-8, 1982; Smithers A (43.4 mm/2 days), January 7-8, 1982; Hartley Bay (243.2 mm/3 days), January 7-9,
1982; Terrace (98.8 mm/3 days), January 7-9, 1982.
Source: The Daily News, January 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 19, 1982; Northern Sentinel, January 6, 7 and 13, 1982;
Daily Herald, January 11, 1982; The Interior News, January 13, 1982; The Province, January 13, 1983; February 26,
1982; The Vancouver Sun, January 15, 1982; Schaefer 1983 (pp. 21-22).
Between January 5-10, the Kitimat-Terrace area recorded 140 cm of snow and winds gusting up to 100 km/h.
On January 12, another 10 cm of snow brought the total snowfall in Terrace to more than 150 cm in less than a week.
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