Photo showing first Mudslide on Highway 25 - 25 May 1962. Lake turned Blue. A car and a logging truck were smashed against each other. Two other cars, a pickup truck, three giant earth movers, three caterpillar tractors, a road grader and a drag line were heavily damaged when they slithered into the chasm. A total of 7-1/2 million tons of earth was heaved about in the eruption and hundreds of tons of blue clay were pushed down into the lake itself, turning the water a bright blue.
Photo showing first Mudslide on Highway 25 - 25 May 1962. Lake turned Blue. A car and a logging truck were smashed against each other. Two other cars, a pickup truck, three giant earth movers, three caterpillar tractors, a road grader and a drag line were heavily damaged when they slithered into the chasm. A total of 7-1/2 million tons of earth was heaved about in the eruption and hundreds of tons of blue clay were pushed down into the lake itself, turning the water a bright blue.
Photo showing first Mudslide on Highway 25. - 25 May 1962. The whole road was moving and at one place it was tipped to a 45 degree angle. Logging truck driver George Kennedy and Clarence Schroeder, both of Terrace leaped from their huge truck as it sank beneath them. Kennedy said the truck loaded with 7,000 board feet of lumber, swivled and slithered as the ground heaved. He & Schroeder leaped out only to find the earth sinking beneath their feet.
Photo showing first Mudslide on Highway 25. - 25 May 1962. The whole road was moving and at one place it was tipped to a 45 degree angle. Logging truck driver George Kennedy and Clarence Schroeder, both of Terrace leaped from their huge truck as it sank beneath them. Kennedy said the truck loaded with 7,000 board feet of lumber, swivled and slithered as the ground heaved. He & Schroeder leaped out only to find the earth sinking beneath their feet.
Photo showing Mudslide on Highway 25 - 25 May 1962. About 15-20 people were in the area at the time. Workmen of the Peter Kiewit and Sons Construction Company had gone off shift half an hour before the upheaval and mechanics were repairing some of the heavy machinery. The company is building a new two-lane highway parallel to the old one. One group was working on a caterpillar tractor when the machine suddenly dropped eight feet into the ground, taking a welding machine with it.
Photo showing Mudslide on Highway 25 - 25 May 1962. About 15-20 people were in the area at the time. Workmen of the Peter Kiewit and Sons Construction Company had gone off shift half an hour before the upheaval and mechanics were repairing some of the heavy machinery. The company is building a new two-lane highway parallel to the old one. One group was working on a caterpillar tractor when the machine suddenly dropped eight feet into the ground, taking a welding machine with it.
Photo showing first Mudslide on Highway 25. 25 May 1962. Kitimat was cut off - travellers have to go by boat to be able to get to the Airport. Government officer, Shaw gave the theory of the earth heave; the layer of blue clay just beneath the earth's surface was unable to withstand the pressure of silt which had absorbed water from a stream running beneath the highway and into the lake. He said his men will drill test holes in the area in the next few days to try to determine how far down the unstable area goes and if there is a solid base for a road. Construction was stopped in the area - a lot of water is still running in and the ground is very unstable. Some workmen found sea shells buried in the clay. Transmission lines and poles would total at least $30,000.
Photo showing first Mudslide on Highway 25. 25 May 1962. Kitimat was cut off - travellers have to go by boat to be able to get to the Airport. Government officer, Shaw gave the theory of the earth heave; the layer of blue clay just beneath the earth's surface was unable to withstand the pressure of silt which had absorbed water from a stream running beneath the highway and into the lake. He said his men will drill test holes in the area in the next few days to try to determine how far down the unstable area goes and if there is a solid base for a road. Construction was stopped in the area - a lot of water is still running in and the ground is very unstable. Some workmen found sea shells buried in the clay. Transmission lines and poles would total at least $30,000.
Photo showing first mudslide on Highway 25 - 25 May 1962. The eruption, which affected an area 3,000 feet long and one-quarter of a mile wide, struck at 6 p.m. Hundreds of trees up to 100 feet high were snapped in two and tossed about like matchsticks. Eight power poles and 4,000 feet of transmission line were destroyed, cutting off Terrace's power supply. Took out Granite Creek Bridge.
Photo showing first mudslide on Highway 25 - 25 May 1962. The eruption, which affected an area 3,000 feet long and one-quarter of a mile wide, struck at 6 p.m. Hundreds of trees up to 100 feet high were snapped in two and tossed about like matchsticks. Eight power poles and 4,000 feet of transmission line were destroyed, cutting off Terrace's power supply. Took out Granite Creek Bridge.
Photo showing first mudslide on Highway 25, which took place 25 May 1962. Vancouver Sun said, "Earth like a Jelly Bowl". See our files "Chronological" on the main floor. For 3,000 feet Highway 25 slid sideways towards Lakelse Lake, a quarter of a mile away. Trees & power poles, still standing upright, moved for 100 feet at an estimated five miles per hour. The violent upheaval lasted about 15 minutes & when it was over the highway was nowhere to be seen.
Photo showing first mudslide on Highway 25, which took place 25 May 1962. Vancouver Sun said, "Earth like a Jelly Bowl". See our files "Chronological" on the main floor. For 3,000 feet Highway 25 slid sideways towards Lakelse Lake, a quarter of a mile away. Trees & power poles, still standing upright, moved for 100 feet at an estimated five miles per hour. The violent upheaval lasted about 15 minutes & when it was over the highway was nowhere to be seen.
Photo showing Second Mudslide on Highway 25 - 7 June 1962. a) Roadway (right of photo) .See our Chronological files - main floor. Major park development at Lakelse, commenced in 1959, was largely destroyed June 7, 1962, when a second mudslide swept away part of Highway 25 under construction and pushed timber and debris through the main campsite area of the part out into Lakelse Lake.
Photo showing Second Mudslide on Highway 25 - 7 June 1962. a) Roadway (right of photo) .See our Chronological files - main floor. Major park development at Lakelse, commenced in 1959, was largely destroyed June 7, 1962, when a second mudslide swept away part of Highway 25 under construction and pushed timber and debris through the main campsite area of the part out into Lakelse Lake.
Photo showing Second Mudslide on Highway 25. 7 June 1962. a) at bottom of hill (Waterlily Bay) looking through to Lakelse Lake. The slide was the second to hit the highway construction within two weeks. Construction equipment was lost and a trailer camped at Lakelse was demolished by falling timber.
Photo showing Second Mudslide on Highway 25. 7 June 1962. a) at bottom of hill (Waterlily Bay) looking through to Lakelse Lake. The slide was the second to hit the highway construction within two weeks. Construction equipment was lost and a trailer camped at Lakelse was demolished by falling timber.
Photo showing second Mudslide on Highway 25 - 7 June 1962. 1) Photo shows point of impact, where highway gave away. Department of Highways crews under the supervision of district highway superintendent Carl Shaw of Terrace, worked around the clock to punch a detour through rock to restore road connection between the two towns in record time. Highway construction was suspended pending results of soil tests in the area to determine the cause of the slide.
Photo showing second Mudslide on Highway 25 - 7 June 1962. 1) Photo shows point of impact, where highway gave away. Department of Highways crews under the supervision of district highway superintendent Carl Shaw of Terrace, worked around the clock to punch a detour through rock to restore road connection between the two towns in record time. Highway construction was suspended pending results of soil tests in the area to determine the cause of the slide.
