HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

Source: The Interior News, December 7, 1950.
On December 1, cold weather caused icejams to form on the Skeena River near Terrace. “Authoritative
sources” advised that the extensive ice jamming on the river were the worst since 1929. On December 1, 3 and 4,
Smithers recorded temperatures of –20.8 o , -19.2 o and –21.7 o F (-29.3 o , -28.4 o and –29.8 o C), respectively.
March 23-26, 1951
Event type: Rockslide.
Precipitation: Falls River (98.3 mm/2 days), March 23-24, 1951; Prince Rupert (33.8 mm/2 days), March 24-25, 1951;
Terrace (20.4 mm/2 days), March 25-26, 1951.
Source: The Interior News, March 29, 1951.
On March 26, a rockslide came down 5 mi. (8 km) west of Kwinitsa. The slide occurred just as a train was
going by. It missed the engine but derailed the first two cars and overturned the rails. In addition to the bulldozers
stationed as Kwinitsa, an extra crew was dispatched from Prince Rupert. It caused a nine-hour delay for the eastbound
train out of Prince Rupert. An earlier slide at the same spot had taken out the wire services to Prince Rupert. Rail
service was restored on March 27.
Severe storms of early March made attempts by the Public Works Department to have the highway between
Prince Rupert-Terrace open for traffic impossible. A series of new slides interfered with the attempts to open up the
snow-blocked road. One such slide at the tunnel near Kwinitsa blocked the highway to a depth of 12 ft. (3.6 m). It slid
out on the river ice for a distance of 150 ft. (45 m). It was expected that slides would continue to block the highway
for some time to come.
Spring 1951
Event type: Icejam flooding?
Source: The Cariboo Observer, April 24, 1952.
During the spring before the ice in the Quesnel River broke up, an ice jam developed, which extended well
above the Fraser River bridge.
April 4-5, 1951
Event type: Spring runoff flooding.
Precipitation: Terrace (max. temp. 9.4 o C, 13.9 o C), April 4-5, 1951.
Source: Omineca Herald, April 6, 1951; The Interior News, April 5, 1951; Files, B.C. Ministry of Transportation and
Highways, Terrace.
Around April 4-5, a major washout occurred at Dorreen, and the road was impassable at Copper River flats.
Highway 16 between Usk-Terrace was closed. The highway was scheduled to reopen on April 7 at noon.
May 10-12, 1951
Event type: Spring runoff flooding.
Precipitation: Smithers (28.9 mm/2 days), May 10-11, 1951; Smithers A (17.2 mm/2 days), May 11-12, 1951.
Source: The Interior News, May 17, 1951; The Daily Times, May 15, 1951; Environment Canada 1991; Files, B.C.
Ministry of Transportation and Highways, Terrace.
In the Bulkley Valley, steady rainfalls, together with warm weather, created flood conditions on the creeks
flowing into the Bulkley River. The Bulkley River at Quick recorded a maximum daily discharge of 634 m 3 /s on May
13 (Environment Canada 1991). The worst situation occurred in the Forestdale-Houston area. Floodwaters threatened
the new $140,000 Houston Hotel and several houses were surrounded by water. Mile 16 of the highway was under 2-3
ft. (60-90 cm) of water and a number of homes were threatened with evacuation (Daily Times, May 15, 1951).
Flooding occurred at Houston, when the Buck River (Creek) flooded the highway. On May 12, numerous small
washouts occurred because the culverts were too small to handle the abnormal runoff. The most serious washout was
at a point 2 mi. (3.2 km) west of Forestdale. The highway was open to light traffic only. On May 14, the eastbound
way freight was cancelled because of impassable track. Other freight traffic was delayed for 36 hours. On the evening
of May 14, the high water started receding.
June 4, 1951
Event type: Rockslide.
Precipitation: Not applicable; Terrace (max. temp. 26.1 o C), June 3 and 4, 1951.
Source: The Interior News, June 7, 1951.
Early on June 4, a rockslide near Telegraph Point, 3 mi. (4.8 km) west of Kwinitsa, blocked the railway
tracks. A 120-ft. (36 m) section of track was badly damaged and needed to be replaced, requiring drilling and blasting
equipment.
Late summer-early fall 1951
Event type: Rockslide.
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