HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

across the Kitwanga backroad, closing the road for over a week. One vehicle drove off the end and got buried halfway
in the mud.
Highway 37 between Terrace-Kitimat was closed for about 24 hours by flooding and shoulder washouts.
Two kilometres south of the Kitimat River bridge, a one-lane section of 150 m of highway disappeared into the river.
The Kitimat River moved to the east, hitting a portion of highway where the embankment had not been riprapped. Tim
Gleig, the District of Kitimat director of engineering services, stated that the Kitimat River rose more than 17 ft. (5.1
m) in just over 30 hours by high tide in the afternoon on October 10. On October 10, the Kitimat River below Hirsch
Creek recorded a maximum instantaneous discharge of 3,030 m 3 /s and a maximum daily discharge of 2,500 m 3 /s. *2)
By October 11, the river levels tapered off. Ministry of Highways district manager John Newhouse estimated the
damage to Highway 37 south to Kitimat at $200,000. On October 10, a section of highway near the Lakelse Lake
picnic area was closed. Williams Creek flooded into Blackwater Creek. At Blackwater Creek, the culverts could not
handle the water, resulting in heavy erosion damage to the gravel road shoulders. On the Kitamaat Village road, only
minor shoulder erosions occurred. Near Kitimat, Hirsch Creek Park had water running through and the picnic area in
Radley Park was under about 4 ft. (1.2 m) of water. The access road to the sewage treatment outfall was washed out.
In localised areas of Kitimat, sewer backups and some problems with surface drainage occurred.
Damage to Forest Service Roads (FSR) in the Prince Rupert Forest Region caused by the storm totaled
$1,274,000. On the Copper River FSR, extensive damage occurred between Matson Creek-Clore River, causing an
estimated $715,000 damage. Major washouts at km 13 and at Hunter Creek, on the Upper Kitimat FSR totaled
$220,000 damage. On the Nass-Kinskuch/Kwinatahl, damage to a bridge was estimated at $100,000. On the Nass
FSR, the estimated cost was $52,000. Repairs included re-channeling and replacing riprap at km 2 and the Ginmiltkun
bridge. Major damage also occurred on the Telkwa FSR, totaling $115,000. Repairs included replacement of 300 m of
road at 6.0 km, replacement of 2,000 m 3 of riprap at 12 km, reconstruction of 2,000 m of road at 21 km, and
replacement of riprap at Jonas and Cumming creeks.
Pacific Northern Gas reported damage to the gas pipeline along the Copper River. Near Tauw Lake in the
Telkwa Pass, a massive rockslide damaged the line, causing some $65,000 damage. At Middle Lake a slide blocked
the road. From Middle Lake west, the line filled up with water for 4 mi. (6.4 km). At the junction of Limonite Creek
and Copper River, the line was exposed for 200 ft. (60 m). Limonite Creek, which had moved its channel over, had to
be re-channeled for 900 ft. (270 m) at a cost of $30,000. Cost to replace some river crossing armouring at MP 244 near
Summit Lake was estimated at $160,000. At the mouth of the Clore, 300 ft. (90 m) of the line on the west side was
exposed. To completely rebuild this section was expected to cost $500,000. Minor damage occurred at 28 km and 15
km on the Copper River Road. Damage to the road at 28 km was estimated at $10,000 (D. Towriss, pers. comm.). On
October 10, the Zymoetz River recorded a maximum daily discharge of 1,050 m 3 /s, which is approximately a 35-year
return period flood (Sigma Engineering p. 6).
Record rainfall also caused drainage problems throughout the Nass Valley. Approximately 360 mm of rain
fell in seven days, equaling the monthly average for the region. The flooding in the Nass Valley was described as the
“worst since October 1961” (British Columbia Report). *3) In some areas the roads were under more than 1 m of
water. Because of flooding along Kitsumkalum and Lava Lake, the road north of Terrace from Dover Road to
Greenville was closed. The Nisga’a Highway was flooded at Lava Lake. The Ministry of Forests confirmed that
extensive damage was done to the road north of Nass Camp, isolating nearly 3,000 Nass Valley residents in Nass
Camp, Greenville, Canyon City, and New Aiyansh. Fresh food was airlifted to the trapped residents by helicopter
through the Provincial Emergency Program (PEP). In the largest airlift in PEP’s history, nearly $25,000 worth of
groceries was airlifted. A total of 14 flights were made, during which mail and ballots for the provincial election were
also delivered. Ministry of Highways officials reported that more than 80% of a 22-km road to Greenville was
completely under water. Many washouts occurred, bridge structures were damaged, and other bridges had their
approaches washed out. The Ministry of Highways district manager estimated damages to the roads in the Nass Valley
to be approximately $500,000. On October 23, the road to Greenville was reported open to traffic. The more than 800
residents of Greenville had been isolated since October 9. A contractor working into the night saved a major bridge
over the Cedar River. At one point the level of the Cedar River rose 3 ft. (90 cm) in 15 minutes.
In Stewart, the rain fell at an average of 6 mm an hour, totaling 376.6 mm for the duration of the storm.
Many basements were flooded, but extensive sandbagging efforts avoided major damage.
The heavy rain also caused damage in the Smithers-Telkwa area. The weather station at the Smithers airport
recorded 95.3 mm of rain for November 9 and 10. The Telkwa River flooded its banks and carried down trees and
other debris. At the confluence with the Bulkley River, standing waves up to 1 m were seen. Flood damage to the
Telkwa FSR was estimated at $114,200. A Telkwa family was stranded at their Cottonwoods Flats home for five days
after floodwaters washed out their driveway, creating an island. A dike built parallel to the property eight years
previous caused the water to back up and then to flood. In order to avoid future problems, officials have indicated that
an old river channel will be opened to divert the overflow. Other creeks in the Smithers area impacted by high water
levels were Toboggan, Casson, Simpson, Canyon, and Big creeks. Toboggan Creek at the fish hatchery was in
imminent danger of flooding. The high water did permanent damage to fish spawning grounds near the Toboggan
Creek Fish Hatchery and threatened to flood ponds holding salmon fry. According to hatchery manager Mike O’Neill,
that summer’s wild spawn along creeks was wiped out by the floods, which were worse than the ones in 1988.
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