HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

On the morning of December 22, City Engineer Charles East announced the city would immediately start
using the emergency army power plant at Central Fort George. Floodwaters put four planer mills out of commission,
leaving more than 100 men out of work. According to one mill operator, “these floods have been occurring for many years
but it is only since the last major flood that the are affected has become the focal point for a major industry.” Near British
Columbia Spruce Mills Ltd., water was pouring across the Cache road.
Hardest hit of the big mill operators was Prince George Planing Mills Ltd., whose yard was flooded with 4 ft.
(1.2 m) of water. Almost 1 million (bd.) ft. (28,300 m 3 ) of lumber was afloat near the Prince George planing mills. On
December 22, the flooding temporarily threw about 250 men out of work. One planer chain at the Prince George
Planing Mills came loose from its moorings and canted half-floating “at a crazy angle.” The Proppe Lumber Company
mill was standing in 3 ft. (90 cm) of water, rapidly being frozen in. The engine house at this mill was in several feet of water.
Damage was estimated at $20,000. At Hales Ross Planing Mill, several employees were forced to vacate their bunkhouse. A
few employees of other mills found their shacks flooded.
Operation at the Prince George Planing Mills was expected to resume in three weeks if all salvage and cleaning
operations would go according to plan. Crews could not separate frozen planks even with crowbars. Proppe Lumber
Company and Hans Roine Planer Mill expected to be running by January 1.
The December flooding of the Prince George planing mill district by the ice-blocked Nechako River caused more
than half a million dollars damage. The direct damage to the planer mills and equipment was estimated at $100,000. Loss of
revenue to the district was estimated at $500,000.
The flood event got much coverage in newspapers in Vancouver and across Canada. The local lumber operators
expressed hope that the publicity given would focus the attention of the government departments on the “dilly-dallying,”
which had “characterised hitherto official reaction to suggestions for eliminating the flood menace.” (Prince George Citizen,
December 29, 1949). *1)
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*1) Late January the Prince George Board of Trade urged provincial government and/or council of the city of Prince George
action in alleviating flood threats. The necessary steps should be taken to correct the conditions. The work was to be carried
out with or without the collaboration of CNR. More than a year previous, the Board of Trade had formed a committee
consisting of W. Dobson, Bill Randy, Les Yates and Martin Cain to consider the possibility of removing the flood menace.
Two different ways to preventing the floods were to either dyking of the river bank or dredging the Nechako River channel to
prevent ice accumulating to an extent where it causes the water to back up into the industrial area.
On February 16, Mayor R.G. Garvin Dezell announced that he had received assurance that the provincial government would
be putting up one-third of the cost of a flood control program, as well as supplying the necessary engineering facilities. The
province would also urge the aid from CNR and the Dominion Government.
December 24-30, 1949
Event type: Icejam flooding.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: The Daily News, December 28, 29 and 30, 1949; The Interior News, December 29,1949.
Between December 24 at 7 a.m.-4 a.m. on December 25, Prince Rupert recorded 1.12 in. (28.5 mm) of
precipitation. Snow, which began falling on Christmas Eve, turned into sleet and rain. In the lower Skeena Valley, the
heavy wet snow was followed by sudden cold weather. It caused a complete breakdown in the telegraph service, radio
network- and long distance service. Though the Skeena River highway was now blocked with snow, the rail service
was maintained.
On December 29, colder weather moved into the southern part of the province. In the northern Interior, the
weather continued cold with snow falling throughout the Cariboo and Prince George districts. On December 28,
temperatures at Prince George and Dawson Creek dropped to –30 o F (-34.4 o C) and –42 o F (-41.1 o C), respectively.
Between 4-10 p.m., temperatures in Prince Rupert dropped to 11 o F (-11.7 o C).
At the end of December, icejam flooding occurred on the Bulkley River east and west of Quick. The water
backed up from a narrow canyon at Telkwa flooding some farms on low ground as far as Quick reportedly to a depth
of 4-5 ft. (1.2-1.5 m). The river overflowed its banks, flooding the road at the Quick station and the Post Office and
general store. After the bridge across the river, the only access to the small settlement, was surrounded by water,
residents had to leave their homes. About 50 head of cattle, marooned on small islands, were hauled or driven to safer
ground. Around December 30, though the river was still plugged with ice for a distance of 8 mi. (12.8 km) immediately
below Quick, water levels had fallen 3 ft. (90 cm).
January 8-20, 1950
Event type: Severe coldsnap.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: The Daily News, January 11, 12 and 20, 1950; The Interior News, January 12, 19 and 26, 1950.
Early January, a combination of an “Arctic Express,” a mass of unusually cold air from Alaska and a
“Pineapple Express,” a series of warm, extremely wet storms hit the Pacific coast from British Columbia to California.
Described as “one of the most severe storms of the past decade” hit the lower Skeena valley with winds of hurricane-
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