HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

Floodwaters filled the basement to a depth of 4.5-5 ft. and destroyed the personal property stored in the
basement and elsewhere on the property to a value of $19,568.61. The residence itself was damaged requiring repairs
valued at $31,278.61.
Harris, not satisfied with PEP compensation took the case to court. The subject property was flooded in 1948
and 1972, but no one observed or recorded any high water marks on that property and even as late as 1979 when the
building permit was issued, the Regional District had no relevant data on file as to historic flood levels. A witness
noted that during the construction of the footings of the residence in 1979 this neighbour had told Harris that during the
1972 flood she and another woman had canoed across the site he was building on and perhaps he should choose
another location. Harris had refused the help by a search and rescue crew to sandbag his home, which probably would
have totally eliminated his losses in the basement. Harris was offered the cost of moving the house and agricultural
building and incidental It did not include the cost of a replacement lot, since the purchase of the land was not a
consequence owner’s acts or omissions. On the evidence tendered, this head totaled $51,600.
The Skeena River flooded part of Usk, Old Remo, and the Esker overpass construction site on Highway 16
west of Terrace. Near Old Remo, there was about 1 ft. (30 cm) of water on the road. On June 2, the Skeena River at
Usk recorded a maximum instantaneous discharge of 5,980 m 3 /s and a maximum daily discharge of 5,840 m 3 /s
(Environment Canada 1991). Flooding at the overpass construction site was only prevented when workers used fill
from the overpass approach to raise the level of the detour. Some flooding occurred also on the Greenville road.
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*1) There are two sewer line valves in the lower Patricia Boulevard area between Fourth-Second avenues. In
anticipation of flooding, the City of Prince George seals the sewage manholes. Floodwaters will spread right over them
and not mix with the sewage (The Prince George Citizen, June 1, 1990).
*2) Normally at this time of the year, the river rises only 20-30 cm a day. Rivers, like the Willow River, which would have
peaked by this date, were still rising. Spring snowpack conditions were similar to those in 1972, the year of the last
major flood in Prince George. The most recent snow survey taken in the Upper Fraser River basin on May 15 showed a
snowpack 32% above normal. Prince George and the Central Interior also experienced an unusually wet spring. May
was the seventh wettest since 1921 with 67.8 mm of rain recorded. The normal amount of rain for the month is 47.3
mm. During April, usually dry with an average of 17.4 mm, 51.5 mm fell. On April 24 alone, 25.5 mm was recorded
(The Prince George Citizen, June 1 and 2, 1990).
*3) Flood stage at South Fort George is at 9.4 m. During the last major flood here, in 1972, water levels peaked at
10.44 m.
June 9-12, 1990
Event type: Spring runoff flooding and debris slide.
Precipitation: Prince George (45.2 mm), midnight on June 9-June 12, 1990; Dawson Creek A (106 mm), evening of
June 10 to about 5 p.m. on June 12, 1990.
Source: The Prince George Citizen, June 12, 13, 14 and 16, 1990; The Vancouver Sun, June 13 and 14, 1990; Ministry of
Environment, Lands and Parks. Attachment No. 3. The summary of sites damaged by the June 1990 flood; O.I.C. 919, Task
No. 910077.
On the night of June 11, Highway 97 washed out in the Stoner area, about 35 km south of Prince George.
Rain-swollen Stone Creek washed out about 100 m of the road. The creek was five times and more its normal width of
8 m. Between 2-4 a.m. on June 12, the rising waters of the creek washed out about 100 m of Highway 97’s southern
approach to the bridge and four houses. At 10 p.m. on June 12, the highway reopened to two-way traffic. By June 13,
the highway was again open to traffic. Upstream from Highway 97, Stone Creek swept away homes, vehicles, the
community well and 100 m of Highway 97.
Floodwaters lifted a $109,000-home from its foundations and floated down Stone Creek to the Fraser River.
Besides the four-year old house, the Enders family also lost a 2,400 ft. 2 (220.8 m 2 ) garage, about 8 ac. (3.2 ha) and
their dog. The rising waters had given enough warning. Their fence started to disappear around 7:30 p.m. on June 11.
“The land just washed away,” Suzanne Enders said. When the fence went, they had lost 100 ft. (30 m) of property.
“Trees went just crashing. It was incredible.” By 4:30 a.m. on June 12, the house went. ”It was just like a movie. The
house lifted from the foundations; we could see inside. It bobbed down the creek.” After rounding a curve, the house
hit a logjam and disintegrated before the owner’s eyes. “We can’t even find a piece of it today.”
Two or three other smaller houses also washed away. The basement of a large cabin washed out, leaving the
hulk to be condemned. Another home, a log house high on a hill overlooking Stone Creek, was endangered. Three
metres of bank had been cut from underneath it, leaving the basement insulation exposed. Land used to extend about
12 m from the edge of the house lined with rows of large cottonwood and spruce trees. Jim Ridley had one house and a
trailer carried away from the south side of the creek. Two of his other houses were swept more than 10 m down the
creek before getting hung up on a trailer. Ridley also lost 4 ac. (1.6 ha) of his land, two trucks and four cars. He put his
loss at $100,000.
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