HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

was a contorted track over which a bulldozer smoothed the way for traffic that gathered at either side of the break.
Telephone lines and cables were a tangled mass, at some spots partially buried in the heaved-up ground. Power lines
were stretched to a taut breaking point. Town Council declared the land immediately adjacent to the slide a disaster
area. Residents were warned that they remained there at their own risk. For a time on April 14 and early April 15, the
big refuse burner of the A.L. Patchett & Sons Ltd. mill was threatened. Slide debris that slowly oozed out over the flat
area around the burner was being kept away by a bulldozer. However, at times it pushed to within 20 ft. (6 m) of the
base of the burner.
By April 15, the land movement was noticeably less. By April 17, the movement had stopped. Crews were
busy improving the road around Dragon Lake to allow traffic to be detoured that way and easing pressure on the hill.
By the time the slide action had finished, the cabin and garage looked down on the highway that was once considered
above the dwelling site. Early estimates placed the damage as high as $300,000, including the cost of relocating power
and telephone lines, emergency highway work and personal property damage.
--------------------------
*1) The area had long been a trouble spot and slides had frequently been experienced before but never at such a
magnitude (Cariboo Observer).
October 1, 1958
Event type: Rockslide.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: The Citizen, October 1, 1958; The Vancouver Sun, October 1, 1958.
On October 1, rocks came down onto the PGE line 30 mi. (48 km) north of Prince George, delaying Premier
W.A.C. Bennett’s north bound inaugural train for two hours. The train carrying Premier Bennett and members of his
cabinet to Dawson Creek and Fort St. John for the opening of the northern extension. Another source put the location
of the slide as 90 mi. (144 km) north of Prince George (The Citizen, October 1, 1958). Crews spend most of the day
trying to clear the tracks. J.S. Broadbent, general manager of the PGE, said the slide was “a minor occurrence – it
happens all the time.” *1)
-------------------------
*1) He used much the same words in 1956, when Bennett’s inaugural train was delayed for eight hours by rocks along
Howe Sound during the opening of the southern extension between Squamish-Vancouver (The Citizen, October 1,
1958; The Vancouver Sun, October 1, 1958).
October 19, 1958
Event type: Glacial outburst flood.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: Mathews 1965 (pp. 46-52).
On October 19, Strohn Lake suddenly drained. This was the first time a sudden draining of the lake at the
head of the Bear River valley was recorded (Mathews 1965). *1)
-------------------------
*1) The lake drained again between October 26-28, 1959, and on October 6, 1960 (Mathews 1965).
October 27-November 2, 1958
Event type: Flooding.
Precipitation: Prince Rupert M. Circ (184.9 mm/7 days), October 27-November 2, 1958; Terrace (188.2 mm/7 days),
October 27-November 2, 1958; Falls River (361.2 mm/7 days), October 27-November 2, 1958; Kitimat (329.0 mm/7
days), October 27-November 2, 1958; Kemano (123.2 mm/2 days), October 28-29, 1958; Sandspit A (90.1 mm/3
days), October 28-30, 1958.
Source: Kitimat Kemano Ingot, November 5, 1958; The Northern Sentinel, October 30, 1958; Northwest Hydraulic
Consultants Ltd. 1987; B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Highways. Granite Creek Flooding, Lakelse Lake Area.
B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Highways, Terrace; Lloyd Johnstone, pers. comm. September 1993.
The Kitimat River flooded the access roads under the bridge and the dike on the east side. The eroding river
washed out some of the 13,000-V poles of the power line to the Service Centre. The road connecting the plant with the
Service Centre was threatened. The Anderson Creek reached high water levels. The road on the Haisla Hill was
closed. Runoff water washed through the gravel under the newly laid drainage flume. On November 29, the highway
bridge at the end of the pavement washed out.
Lower Granite Creek piled up gravel and debris, blocking off the flow into the North Granite Creek. As a
result, bank overflow occurred on the south side above this point, and the lower portion of the road from Highway 25
to the lake washed out. One car was lost in this road washout. The properties of the federal Department of Fisheries,
Lot 4 and adjoining Lot 5, were greatly endangered and damaged. Lakelse Lake reached the highest water level since
1935, making it the fourth highest level this century (L. Johnstone, pers. comm.). According to local resident D.L.
71