HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

On November 27 at 11 p.m., the river rose quickly, flooding River Road and closing it from the Cameron
Street Bridge to Foley Crescent. According to an employee of Papason Trucking Ltd., it “came suddenly like a wave
around 11 p.m.” The ice jam just above the Foothills Bridge broke allowing the water to drain to the next ice jam at the
confluence of the Nechako and Fraser rivers. The water backing up behind this ice jam, which caused the flooding in
the Cameron Street Bridge area, slowly drained. The dam break above Foothills Bridge also lowered the water level at
Morning Place where homes near the river’s edge had been flooded. While it caused flooding problems closer to
downtown, it removed the threat of further flooding at the upscale neighbourhood on the west side of the North
Nechako Road. Though the riverbanks reappeared, massive blocks of ice, some as thick as 10 ft. (3 m) continued to
hug the riverbanks.
On the morning of November 28, the icejam extended more than 5 km, from about 1 km west of the Foothills
Bridge to the Spruce City Wildlife Association hatchery on River Road. The rising water was up to the backs of the
houses on Prince George Pulp Mill Road. River road was closed after flooding from just east of the Cameron Street
Bridge to Foley Crescent. Parking lots and storage on both sides of the road were flooded and Cottonwood Island was
half under water. The flooding caused Pacific Western Brewery to shut down regular production the first time in 27
years. When the brewery’s loading area flooded, BC Rail sent in tractors to pull out all trailer units threatened by the
floodwaters. Nearby Cedars Christian School was closed for the day. Water had covered driveways and was lapping
against units of the Del Haven condominium project closest to the riverbank. West of Wilson Park was under water,
and its industrial fuel tanks were floating downstream among the blocks of ice.
The massive icejam on the Nechako River moved downstream from outlying western Prince George
neighbourhoods, causing significant flooding of low-lying residential and industrial areas. Floodwaters more than 1 m
deep forced the closure of the underpass on North Nechako Road and most off-ramps from the Hart Highway were
closed. By 7:30 a.m., morning commuters heading into town were backed up to the Mohawk service station. On
November 28 at 3 a.m., the river had crested and by 2 p.m. that day, the water had receded by a foot (30 cm).
By November 30, the only remaining road closure was the North Nechako Road under the John Hart
underpass, which was expected to reopen around December 1.
On December 5, Environment Minister Paul Ramsay announced that his ministry would review the
circumstances that led to the flooding.
----------------------------
*1) According to a local old-timer, it was the first time he had seen this type of winter flooding since 1953 (Prince
George Citizen, November 29, 1996). Though there had not been any for some years, the Nechako River has a long
history of damaging ice jams. This ice jam was not the highest on record but it appeared to be one of the largest in
recent years.
*2) It takes about 10 days to two weeks for a reduced flow from the reservoir to be registered at Vanderhoof and Prince
George (Prince George Citizen, November 26, 1996). Between the Skins Lake Spillway-Prince George, three
significant rivers (the Nautley, Stuart and Chilako) provide inflow into the Nechako River. Following one of the
longest winters in recent years, Prince George had the fourth wettest summer on record. Despite earlier increased
releases, runoff into the Nechako Reservoir in June and July was still 15-17% over the long-term average. In August,
the reservoir was 25% too high in view of runoffs anticipated during the next spring (Prince George Citizen,
November 28, 1996).
January 27-29, 1997
Event type: Ice jam flooding.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: Peace River Block Daily News, January 30, 1997; Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks files; Flood
Report Summary, January 31, 1997.
Late on January 27, ice build up in the Peace River about 5 km downstream from Taylor caused the level of
the Peace River to rise behind it. To alleviate the potential flooding of properties along the river in South Taylor, BC
Hydro cut back the outflow from the W.A.C. Bennett Dam about 5,000 cfs (141.6 m 3 /s). BC Hydro spokesman Dennis
Hunter noted, “I don’t think it will get any worse than it did last year.”
As of the morning of January 29, there were no reports of shoreline homes in danger of flooding. In response
to warm weather patterns the ice jam south of Taylor and potential flooding receded. The ice front slowly made its way
down the Peace River. By January 30, it was situated at the Taylor Bridge. The ice jam later receded 2.5 km
downstream of Highway 97 bridge. The water level at South Taylor dropped 1.5 m.
Early March 1997
Event type: Debris slides.
Precipitation: Not available.
Source: Quesnel Cariboo Observer, March 16, 1997.
182