HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: Memo December 2, 2005 Jim Whyte, Manager of Operations, Provincial Emergency Program.
Details: Between November 29-30, the Nechako River rose 1.4 m in two days due to the formation of an icejam.
Near Vanderhoof, water levels went “over bank” and came within 1 m elevation of the foundation of the lowest house.
On December 2, river levels were holding at a constant value and the ponded water had created a path around the
icejam. Cold weather helped to stabilize the ice pack.
Base flow in the Nechako River had been above seasonal normals for some time as Alcan was trying to
reduce storage in the Nechako Reservoir system.
October 28, 2006
Event type: Severe storm.
Precipitation: Not available.
Source: The Province, October 29, 2006; The Interior News, November 1, 2006; The Vancouver Sun, November 3,
2006.
On October 28, a massive snowstorm that hit northern British Columbia dumped 2.5-3 ft. (75-90 cm) of wet
snow in some areas. It was a result of a combination of two weather systems, a warm Pacific and a large cold front,
colliding. The Smithers airport set a 24-hour October record of 62 cm of snow. *1) Early on October 28, the 244-km
section of Highway 16 between Moricetown-Fraser Lake was temporarily closed, to be reopened the next day.
The early season snowstorm left an estimated 15,000 BC Hydro customers in northwestern British Columbia
without power. Affected communities included: Mackenzie, Prince George, Vanderhoof, Fort St. James, Fraser Lake,
Burns Lake, Takla Landing, Houston, Telkwa, Smithers and Hazelton. Three transmission lines were down and due to
impassable roads crews in some areas were relying on helicopters to access problem areas. On October 30, an
estimated 2,500 customers were still without power.
On November 2, six days after the storm, about 200 households in about 10 communities near Burns Lake
were still without power. Most of these were unlikely to get service back for several more days. The area most heavily
affected was the south shore of Francois Lake, about 25 km south of Burns Lake. Large trees coated with ice hampered
repair efforts. BC Hydro representative Elisha Moreno said, “There was about a metre-and–a-half of wet snow; then it
froze.”
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*1) It easily broke the previous record set in October 1973 with 15.2 cm. On January 16, 1947, Smithers set an all time
snowfall record of 105.5 cm (The Interior News, November 1, 2006).
December 18-19, 2006
Event type: Flooding.
Precipitation: Terrace (94 mm/1 day), December 18, 2006.
Source: Terrace Standard, January 24 and 31, 2007.
On December 18-19, heavy rain hitthe Terrace area. On December 18, Terrace received a record amount of
94 mm, causing parts of the city to flood. *1) The provincial government made financial support available to those
suffering flood damage under the British Columbia’s Disaster Financial Assistance Program.
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*1) This broke the previous record of 30.5 mm and also brought December’s total precipitation to 362.8 mm, compared
to a normal for December of 191.6 mm. During October-November-December, Terrace recorded the third highest
amount of snow. The 295 cm total was only surpassed in 1956 with 315 mm and 1990 with 303 mm (Terrace
Standard, January 24, 2007).
Appendix 1 - Geographical index by rivers, creeks, and lakes.
Alice Creek: October 5-9, 1974.
Alsek River: Ca. 1852; August 1909.
Alwyn Creek: summer 1953.
American Creek: August 12-13, 1920; October 7-8, 1921; May 29-June 3, 1936; October 4-5, 1936.
Anderson Creek: November 30-December 3, 1913; November 21-25, 1914; September 21-25, 1954; October 27-
November 2, 1958; October 13-16, 1974; September 26-29, 1988.
Andesite Creek: October 29-November 1, 1978; November 4-7, 1978.
Ape Lake: October 6-10, 1984.
Australian Creek: April 23- May 2, 1965.
Babine River: February 1, 1953.
Baker Creek (Quesnel): April 23- May 2, 1965; March 1997.
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