HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

ft. (0.6-1.2 m). At Mile 62.5, washouts occurred 50 ft. 15 m) wide and 6 ft. (1.8 m) deep and 75 ft. (22.5 m) wide and
10 ft. (3 m) deep, respectively. Between Mile 66-68, the road surface was washed away. The bridge at Mile 68 floated
and was raised about 2 ft. (60 cm) on the west end. At Mile 70.2, the bridge floated and was raised about a foot (30
cm). At Mile 70.8, the bridge floated and was 2 in. (5 cm) off the caps. Between Mile 68-71, the road surface was
covered with silt and logs and washed off in stretches.
Summary of highway damage Terrace to Prince Rupert: At Remo, the road washed out over almost the full
width for 60 ft. (18 m). A half-mile (800 m) east of Shames station the highway washed out over a width of 60 ft. (18
m) and a depth of 15 ft. (4.5 m). One mile (1.6 km). east of Shames station, some 2,000 ft. (600 m) of surface was lost.
An average fill of about 2 ft. (60 cm) was required. At Mile 43.3, the Skeena River cut through the road. The new
channel, 400 ft. (120 m) wide, 25 ft. (7.5 m) deep, and filled with fast running water, had to be bridged. From Mile 71
to Prince Rupert, a distance of about 44 mi. (70.4 km), the road was open and in fair condition. With the completion of
a new bridge 1 mi. (1.6 km) west of Shames, the Northern Trans-Provincial Highway reopened on June 30. Major
flooding and washouts closed the highway between May 25-June 10.
In the Portland Canal District, Bitter Creek, Bear River, and Salmon River rose abnormally after three days
of extremely hot weather at the end of May, but no damage occurred. On June 11, the approaches and stringers of the
Aiyansh bridge washed out. The Native Indians were prevented from hauling hay over the bridge until it was fixed.
On June 14, the bridge across Gingit Creek at Phillips was made impassable. One guardrail and two stringers from the
pier to the south abutment broke and one bent was turned over. As per April 1949 in Stewart, $9,024.35 had been
spent on the protection work for the Bear River encroaching on the townsite. An additional $2,500 would be required
to complete the job.
A late spring and the previous week’s heat wave caused the “highest water ever recorded” on the Peace
River. Herbie Taylor, “first white man on Taylor Flat and the oldest old-timer in Peace River” in his entire experience
had not seen high water on the Peace like this year’s.
The Peace River rose 2 ft. (60 cm) in 24 hours flowing 4-5 ft. (1.2-1.5 m) over the cofferdam. Floodwaters
caused the loss of livestock. A dozen or more families were flooded out. Down from the bridge on the other side,
Thomas Wilson’s family was forced to leave their home. A washout occurred on Hudson’s Hope road at the Halfway
Bridge. Maximum temperatures recorded at Fort St James on May 20, 21, 24, 29 and 30, respectively, were 81.8 o F
(27.7 o C), 84 o F (28.9 o C), 82.2 o F (27.9 o C), 83.2 o F (28.4 o C) and 84.5 o F (29.2 o C).
By June 5, the flood damage in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and British Columbia was estimated at $140
million. In the United States alone, floodwaters covered about 650 mi. 2 (1,683 km 2 ). On June 14, the final toll was 41
known dead and at least 28 missing.
Province-wide, the flooding caused about $20 million damage and left 2,400 families homeless. Some 15,000
ha of farmland were flooded. About 100 bridges washed out or were destroyed. Rail lines and highways cut off the
Lower Mainland from the rest of Canada. Miraculously, nobody was killed but an unknown number of livestock
drowned. (The Weekend Sun, July 25, 1993).
Early July, Lands and Forests Minister E.T. Kenney, who was appointed by the Cabinet to survey flood damage
outside the Fraser Valley, gave a tentative analysis of flood costs outside the Fraser Valley for which the Province would
bear the entire costs, including $6,525 for the Skeena River Valley (The Daily Colonist, July 8, 1948). The total repair cost
as per March 31, 1949 amounted to $59,029.88, with $40,816.49 for roads, $13,158.82 for bridges, and $5,054.57 for
ferries.
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*1) In 1936, the year of the previous big Skeena River flood, the Native Indian cannery workers were transported from
Kitwanga via Jasper Park to Vancouver by rail and brought to the Skeena River canneries by boat.
*2) The road west of Houston to the bridge across the Bulkley River, being low-lying had been long a source of
trouble. Following the 1948 flood and to avoid future disruption, Public Works built a long earth and gravel fill along
the flat leading into Houston. (The Interior News, July 15, 1948).
August 22-24, 1948
Event type: Flooding.
Precipitation: Aiyansh (25.1 mm/1 day), August 22, 1948; Prince Rupert (137.2 mm/3 days), August 22-24, 1948;
Falls River (99.1 mm/2 days), August 23-24, 1948.
Source: The Daily News, August 23-24, 1948.
In Prince Rupert, 3.75 in. (95.3 mm) of rain fell on August 23 in a 12-hour period. On August 24, the road
between Terrace-Prince Rupert, particularly around Shames and Salvus, sustained damage.
December 13-14, 1948
Event type: Snow avalanche.
Precipitation: Not available.
Source: The Interior News, December 16, 1948
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