HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

River after floodwaters completely surrounded the house. Alone at the time and though her cries for help could be
heard across the river in central Fort George, she could not be located in the darkness.
On December 20, ice jammed at Engen in the canyon forcing water to break through and flooding low lying
land and the home of Harry Worthington. This family escaped with great difficulty to the schoolhouse 0.75 mile (1.2
km) away. A number of sheep, pigs and large cattle drowned.
January 24-27, 1934
Event type: Rain-on-snow and icejam flooding.
Precipitation: Ocean Falls (393.0 mm/3 days), January 24-26, 1934; Swanson Bay (288.6 mm/3 days), January 24-26,
1934; Falls River (207.0 mm/4 days), January 24-27, 1934; Prince Rupert (219.2 mm/2 days), January 25-26, 1934;
Aiyansh (96.7 mm/2 days), January 25-26, 1934; Terrace (116.6 mm/2 days), January 25-26, 1934; Kitimat Mission
(168.9 mm/3 days), January 25-27, 1934; Terrace (77.5 mm/1 day), January 26, 1934.
Source: The Daily News, January 25, 26 and 27, 1934; The Omineca Herald, January 31, 1934; The Terrace News,
January 31, 1934; Evening Empire, January 26, 27, 29 and 30, February 1, 1934; The Interior News, January 31, 1934.
Near Prince Rupert, a slide came down from Mount Oldfield near Fairview during the night of January 27.
Thousands of tons of debris buried 30 cords of stacked wood.
Telegraphic communications and rail traffic between Prince Rupert-Terrace were interrupted by washouts,
large slides, and damaged bridges. A mudslide blocked the rail line at North Pacific. After the slide had been cleared,
a second slide came down at the same location. The Khyex River railroad bridge sustained minor damage by drifting
ice and high water conditions. Between Pacific-Kwinitsa, eight to 10 snow and mudslides occurred, varying from 40-
600 ft. (12-180 m) long and 5-25 ft. (1.5-7.5 m) deep. A rotary plow was dispatched to clear the line. Rail traffic was
interrupted for a week. A washout occurred east of Smithers, but its exact location was unknown.
Just upstream from Terrace, big icejams in the Skeena River dammed the stream. The water was diverted to
the south side of the river and almost completely washed away DL 374 Lot 107. Also a part of the old Copper City
trail was washed away. On Kitselas Mountain, a large slide came down across the railway and frozen river.
Heavy rains and mild weather caused “one of the worst tie-ups on the railroad in the [Smithers] district
during the past 15 years.” Huge slides and washouts occurred at Kitwanga and the lower Skeena. For at least 10 days
all trains from the west were cancelled. Serious washouts also occurred near Prince George.
During a continuous series of west gales with snow, rain, and sleet, the Queen Charlotte Islands experienced
the “worst weather known for several years.” The heavy rain and thaw combination caused floods and washouts that
interrupted the traffic between Queen Charlotte City-Port Clements.
January 30-31, 1934
Event type: Ice jam flooding.
Source: The Daily Colonist, February 3, 1934; The Cariboo Observer, February 3, 1934.
At the end of January, ice jams caused the “worst winter flood in the history of Quesnel.” Rain and mild weather
caused an early thaw and break-up of river ice. On the afternoon of January 30, a large ice run came down the Fraser River
and jammed about the mouth of the Quesnel River. Early next day, the river had completely jammed except for a small
passage on the west side, and the water began to rise. About 6 p.m., the “auto camp,” in which a large number of families
were living, was flooded as was the south portion of Quesnel.
During the night of January 31, an ice jam occurred near Quesnel at the Forks, which backed up water in the
Quesnel and Fraser rivers. Residents of houses bordering the banks of the two rivers both in Quesnel and West Quesnel had
to leave their homes. Although during the spring runoff in 1894 there was more water on the flat on the west side and while
ice jams are common, this one was the “worst in the memory of the old-timers.”
Fraser River water levels rose to several feet above the high water mark, reaching to the windowsills of some
houses along the river. The ice and trees were carried onto the front street at the lower end of town and against the piers of
the Fraser River bridge to within 6 ft. (1.8 m) of the decking. On the west side, where a number of dwellings had been built
the previous year, a larger area was flooded. About a dozen families hastily packed their belongings and moved across the
bridge.
Quesnel Light and Power Co.’s plant was isolated for several hours. The basement of Ernest Sealy’s cabin
along the Quesnel River at the north portal of the Quesnel bridge was completely flooded. Water undermined its
foundations and allowed the floor to settle. Sealy lost a number of personal belongings and five cords of his wood
floated over the fence and down the river. Large chunks of ice piled on the banks uprooting trees. Under the Fraser
River bridge, the ice piled up to only 6-8 ft. (1.8-2.4 m) from the spans on the west side. The water subsided almost as
quickly as it had risen.
August 18, 1934
Event type: Flooding.
Precipitation: Stewart (54.1 mm/1 day), August 18, 1934.
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