HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

October 11-16, 1954
Event type: Debris slide.
Precipitation: Kitimat Townsite (53.1 mm/1 day), October 11, 1954; Kitimat Townsite (75.7 mm/3 days), October 13-
15, 1954; Namu (58.7 mm/1 day), October 14, 1954; Falls River (103.6 mm/3 days), October 14-16, 1954.
Source: The Daily News, October 18 and 19, 1954; The Interior News, October 21, 1954; Kitimat Northern Sentinel,
October 21, 1954.
On October 16 at 4:00 p.m., a rock, mud, and debris slide occurred at Telegraph Point, 44 mi. (70.4 km) east
of Prince Rupert, blocking the rail line and the highway. The slide measured a length of 150 ft. (45 m) and a depth of
15 ft. (4.5 m). The rock and mud was bulldozed into the Skeena River. At midnight on October 17, the highway was
reopened to full traffic. The eastbound passenger train arrived at Smithers eight hours late. On October 19, rail traffic
returned to normal.
On October 18, a steam shovel working at Mile 28 on the construction of the railway spur line between
Terrace-Kitimat was hit by a slide. The accident claimed the lives of two construction workers. The crew was
working on a section of the CNR grade between the Bannock Creek trestle and the Campbell-Bennett camp Four at the
Big Wedeene River. The shovel moving south along the grade caused the rain-washed gravel to give way and
overturned. The construction company encountered heavy blue clay in the area that earlier caused a delay in the grade
construction.
January 19, 1955
Event type: Icejam flooding.
Precipitation: not applicable.
Source: The Vancouver Province, January 22, 1955.
In January following unusual mild temperatures, the Nechako River flooded low-lying areas twice within
two weeks. On January 19, an icejam backed up the Nechako River from where it flows into the frozen Fraser River.
It was feared that if the temperatures continued at the present 15-25 o F (-9.4 o to –3.9 o C), the river was expected to
back up beyond the city within a week. The Nechako River rose 8 ft. (2.4 m) within a week. *1)
After the powerhouse of Prince George Planing Mills flooded, operations were halted. To guard the water
supply, city crews built an 800-ft. (240 m) dyke around the city’s settling basin. After the river flooded the city water
pumping station, the chlorination equipment was disconnected and removed. Residents were warned to boil their
water.
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*1) During a normal spring freshet, the Nechako River would usually not rise more than 5 ft. (1.5 m) (The Vancouver
Province, January 22, 1955).
January 21-25, 1955
Event type: Snow avalanche.
Precipitation: Aiyansh (34.3 mm/1 day), January 21, 1955; Falls River (51.1 mm/1 day), January 22, 1955; Kitimat
(43.2 mm/1 day), January 22, 1955; (max. temp. 6.1 o C); Kitimat (32.0 mm/1 day), January 25, 1955; (max. temp.
9.4 o C).
Source: Kitimat Northern Sentinel, January 27, February 3, 1955; Kendrick 1987; Jamieson and Geldsetzer 1996 (pp.
169-170); Adam Charneski, pers. comm. July 1991, Line Foreman Alcan, Kitimat.
On January 25 at noon, an airborne avalanche wiped out three transmission towers in Glacier Bowl on the
south side of Kildala Pass between Kitimat-Kemano. *1) One of the towers was partially left in position. Destroyed
were the towers 113L, 111R, and 112R; tower 113R was damaged. The right-hand sideline was wiped out but the left
one was left relatively intact. *2) The power supply to the Kitimat smelter and townsite was cut, leaving the area
without power. The telephone communications to Kemano were interrupted for three days. The production of
aluminum was temporarily halted when the electrolyte in the pots froze. The town got power from the temporary
diesel units, which had been installed during the construction of Kitimat. The tower on the uphill line had been swept
clean away, but the conductors were undamaged. It was two days before a crew could get to the site, following a track
plowed by a bulldozer. Using a helicopter, the conductors were pulled tight and then cut away from the cross arm.
With the reduction in weight, the conductors floated above the snow. Nine days after the avalanche, power was
restored to Kitimat. During the repair work, over 1 m of new snow fell. The conductors on the second line were
broken in many places and tangled in the wreckage of the two destroyed towers. It took crews two weeks to put this
line back into service. During the whole time, the men worked in the avalanche zone. By the time they finished,
another 2 m of snow had fallen (Kendrick 1987).
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*1) Any disturbance of a dry and powdery snow mantle on a steep slope can kick up small clouds of snow powder.
This snow cloud, which may be only a few cubic metres in size, is heavier than air. Flowing downhill, it kicks up
more snow powder. When speeding up, by a chain reaction, a huge cloud of airborne snow will billow down the
mountain. It can reach speeds of 300 km/h, able to destroy almost anything in its path (Kendrick 1987).
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