HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

Eng. B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Highways, Terrace; File 32-20-100 Usk-Cedarvale Project, 4-A. Weekly
Rep. No. 54. B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Highways, Terrace.
Between October 17-19, a “tremendous downpour” occurred. In Terrace, 5 in. (127.0 mm) of rain fell in
three days, bringing the Skeena River to the spring flood level. The river rose more than 10 ft. (3 m). In the Terrace
area, Glacier Creek washed out some of the road surface on the Kalum Road. The Williams Creek bridge sustained
damage, closing the bridge to truck traffic. The rock fill at the south pier washed away. The water in Lakelse Lake
came close to the high water mark. Two boats in the lake were damaged or sunk. Some telephone lines came down,
interrupting communications for over 24 hours. The crib and the pier of the Ellsworth bridge at Kitwanga were
washed away. At Whiskey Creek bridge, a crib scoured out and one end of the log stringers settled down 3 ft. (90 cm).
Maroon Creek on the Kalum Lake Trail washed out. Near Kalum Lake, the road at Goat Creek and one end of the
Goat Creek bridge washed out.
Construction work on the Usk to Cedarvale road also sustained damage. The false work for the bridge at
Station 339 washed out. A number of slides occurred from Station 332 onwards. Half the roadbed between Station
336-337 was carried away by a slide. The heavy rains also sloughed the embankment shoulders.
The rail line experienced the “worst tie-up since 1936,” blocking the railroad east and west of Terrace until
October 23. Rockslides occurred a few miles east of Terrace and a big rockslide came down at Ritchie. Near Dorreen,
the Fiddler Creek bridge had part of the approach on the west side washed away. On October 19, a passenger train
plunged off the flood-weakened bridge across Lorne Creek. The engine was virtually buried in the soft silt with the
tender and freighter on top of it. The engineer, fireman, and two passengers were missing and presumed drowned. On
November 1, the body of one of the passengers was found 16 mi. (25.6 km) below the scene of the accident. It was
caught in the branches of a tree 5 ft. (1.5 m) above the ground, indicating the height of the river at this point at the time
of the accident. On November 27, the body of the other passenger was found on a sand bar 1 mi. (1.6 km) below the
Skeena River bridge. It was lodged about 4 ft. (1.2 m) above the river level and almost buried in the sand. On
November 28, the engine was recovered but no more bodies were found. The fast water had probably swept them
away.
At Bella Coola, a fishing boat sank and a bridge was swept away. On November 19, the seiner Mildred G of
Metlakatla foundered near Deep Bay, 18 mi. (28.8 km) south of Prince Rupert. One man was drowned and the rest of
the crew was rescued.
May 25-26, 1942
Event type: Spring runoff flooding.
Precipitation: Smithers (41.9 mm/2 days), May 25 and 26, 1942.
Source: The Daily News, May 27 and 28, 1942; The Interior News, May 27, 1942; The Omineca Herald and Terrace
News, May 27, 1942; Vancouver News-Herald, May 27 and 28, 1942;Prince George Citizen, May 28, 1942;
Environment Canada 1991; File 32-41-10 Telegrams, May 26, 27, 1942, S. A. Cunliffe (Ass. Dist. Eng.) to Chief Eng.
Public Works Dept. Victoria. B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Highways, Terrace; Letter, May 28, 1942, S. A.
Cunliffe to J. C. Brady (Dist. Eng. Prince Rupert) B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Highways, Terrace; File 32-40-
51, Letters, June 10, 1942, April 9, 1943 S. A. Cunliffe to J. C. Brady. B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Highways,
Terrace; Telegram, June 4, 1942, J. C. Brady (Dist. Eng. Prince Rupert) to Chief Eng. Dept. Public Works, Victoria.
B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Highways, Terrace; Telegram, June 8, 1942. Hugh McDonald (Atlin Dist.) to J. C.
Brady. B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Highways, Terrace.
On May 25 and 26 in the Terrace to Smithers area, very heavy warm rains occurred described as “torrential
downpours.” After a gradual rise for two days, the Skeena and Bulkley rivers reached flood levels. On May 27, the
Bulkley River at Quick recorded a maximum daily discharge of 691 m 3 /s (Environment Canada 1991). Several small
creeks were reported to be on the rampage.
On the rail line, the bridge approaches of John Brown Creek near Moricetown were damaged. On May 26,
the westbound train had to return to Smithers, delaying the train for 23 hours. The railway grade at Ritchie was
reported damaged. In the same location in 1940, five lives were lost when a train derailed (see: October 17-20, 1940).
Near Terrace, the fill of the north-end approach of the Glacier Creek bridge No. 44 washed out. The washout of the
approach embankment was temporarily bridged for foot traffic. At Kitwanga, Ellsworth Bridge No. 248, a 70-ft. (21
m) hewn Queen Truss, at Kitwanga washed away. The Pallitti bridge No. 274 on the Northern Trans-Provincial
Highway between Cedarvale-Kitwanga had its deck afloat. At the Kitwanga ferry, the cable of the tower under
construction had to be cut in order to save it. On the Mannix contract, the roads on the Hardscrabble Flats east of Usk
flooded. A large amount of drift timber piled up against the Terrace bridge. Drift was building at the old Indian bridge
at Kitsequecla. On May 28 the bridge was ordered to be blown out.
Flooding closed the road between Smithers-Hazelton. Some settlement occurred on a small bridge on the
Driftwood Creek Road. Glacier Creek, just east of Moricetown Station, flooded the road, cutting off the link with
Hazelton. The Bulkley River bridge No. 51 at Hazelton was closed indefinitely to all traffic. Drift had tilted the
northerly span. The water was still rising and bringing more drift. Blasting operations to remove the piled up drift
proved to be ineffective. The first span moved downstream about 16 in. (40.6 cm). On the night of May 27, the
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