HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

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*1) The Terrace coroner’s jury recommended CNR to revamp its avalanche safety program. It also urged the railway
company and the highways department to work more closely in controlling avalanches. (The Vancouver Province,
February 26, 1982). The inquest probed into log-standing friction between the CNR and two provincial government
agencies – the WCB and the highways ministry. The jury learned that a CNR employee turned down three times an
offer of avalanche equipment from the ministry. The last offer was rejected only 15 minutes before the fatal avalanche
occurred. A ministry employee did not warn the trainmen of the avalanche hazard because his advice had been ignored
in the past. The WCB has no authority over the operation of the federal-controlled CNR. (The Vancouver Sun,
February 25, 1982).
January 23-31, 1982
Event type: Snow avalanches.
Precipitation: Tasu Sound (150.3 mm/4 days), January 28-31, 1982; Prince Rupert M. Circ (115.6 mm/4 days) January
28-31, 1982.
Source: The Daily News, January 25 and 26, 1982; February 1 and 2, 1982.
On the afternoon of January 23, because of new snow avalanches in the Terrace area and blizzard conditions
near Prince Rupert, Highway 16 was closed again. Snow sloughing (small slides) and drifting snow made the road
impassable. Only two slides, at points 50 and 60 km west of Terrace, were considered major. On the afternoon of
January 25, Highway 16 was reopened after being closed for two nearly days.
For most of January 29 and 30, Highway 16 was closed again to be reopened on January 31. On January 29,
a snow avalanche covered 10 m of roadway. On February 1, the highway was closed for a fourth time when snow
avalanches started coming down about midway between Terrace-Prince Rupert. It was reopened early on February 2.
The rail line was also cut, but reopened on February 1.
February 15-18, 1982
Event type: Snow avalanche.
Precipitation: Prince Rupert M. Circ (113.3 mm/4 days) February 15-18, 1982; Terrace (55.6 cm snow/3 days)
February 16-18, 1982; Sewell Inlet (43.8 mm/1 day), February 17, 1982; Tasu Sound (43.0 mm/1 day), February 17,
1982.
Source: The Daily News, February 16, 17 and 18, 1982.
On February 16-17, Prince Rupert recorded more than 50 cm of snow, followed by rain. Highway 16
between Prince Rupert-Terrace closed again and remained closed on February 18 when another small slide came down.
The road to Port Edward remained passable. After reopening, the highway was closed again on February 24 by a snow
avalanche. *1)
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*1) During the winter 1981-1982, the hazardous conditions resulted in a total of 41 road closures on Highway 16 (B.C.
Ministry of Transportation and Highways).
July 13-14, 1982
Event type: Flash flood.
Precipitation: Prince George (29.2 mm/24 hours), July 13-14, 1982.
Source: The Citizen, July 14, 15 and 21, 1982; The Peace River Block Daily News, July 22 and 28, 1982.
On July 13-14, freak storms dumped about 30 cm of rain in 36 hours in the Chetwynd area. According to
weatherman Earl Zilkie, the rain was caused by a typical summer storm with thunderclaps layered in heavy cloud,
accompanied by lightning and heavy rain.
The torrential rains washed out culverts and damaged bridges, forcing rail line and highway closures. The
extremely heavy rains cut trenches 5 m deep and up to 50 m long. Near Chetwynd, Falling Creek went on a rampage.
Stan Glapysz, highways manager in Dawson Creek, put the damage figure at $200,000
The Heritage Highway to Tumbler Ridge was expected to reopen on July 21. Work on the Heritage Highway
and the Sukunka Highway from Chetwynd to the coalfield was returning to normal. On July 14, the heavy rain caused
a washout along East Austin Road near Dawson Road. About 100 m of roadside ditch were washed out to a depth of
about 3 m. City Public Works crews were expecting to have the ditch filled later on July 15.
The BC Rail line between Chetwynd-Lemoray was shut down till July 18. The damage was estimated at
several hundred thousand dollars. *1)
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*1) The damage was not as bad as in 1973 when the rail line was closed for 16 days. (The Citizen, July 21, 1982).
July 31-August 2, 1982
Event type: Flooding.
Precipitation: Dawson Creek (85.6 mm/3 days), July 31-August 2, 1982.
Source: The Peace River Block Daily News, August 3, 1982.
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