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Show No. 57- 2 WARDNER, IDAHO 5 February 1957 During the last week of January temperatures ranged from 20 degrees above to 18 degrees below zero. The snow depth for this period remained relatively constant at 29 inches; the continuous sub- freezing temperatures maintained a hard crusted surface on the old frozen snow. January 31 and the first days of February brought a distinct warming trend to the area. By 5 February the daytime temperature ranged around 30 degrees. Snow depths increased some thirty- three inches in this same period, bringing the total accumulation by 5 February to sixty- three inches. Prevailing west and southwest winds during this time created overhanging cornices on the exposed points of spur ridges. ACCIDENT SUMMARY The small town of Wardner, Idaho is an old mining settlement, which begins at the southwest boundary of Kellogg, Idaho, and is scattered along Milo Gulch for two miles. Both slopes of the Gulch are steep, several with grades of 60% to 80%. The floor of the gulch is very narrow. Consequently most of the houses had to be built at the toe of the slopes to provide room for the stream and road. Because the area is less than one mile from the lead and zinc smelters of the Bunker Hill Company, the slopes along the gulch have been denuded of most vegetation cover by sulphur fumes and fires. At 4: 00 a. m. 5 February, a massive slide spilled down one of the east-facing slopes, crashing into the home of L. W., killing him and throwing his wife 200 feet out of bed and through a hole in the kitchen roof of a damaged home next door. The residents of that house found their kitchen full of snow, but saw Mrs. W's arm sticking out and rescued the seriously injured woman. The slide was nearly 1200 feet long and almost 200 feet wide at the base. In addition to the destroyed house, several other homes were extensively damaged. Then at 10: 00 a. m., a second slide sent tons of snow slamming into homes a half mile further down the canyon. This avalanche demolished two houses, damaged others and buried a young mother and her small daughter for an hour and a half. One hundred volunteers working with shovels and bulldozers began a frantfic search for the pair. Finally the assistant fire chief spotted the missing woman's arm amid the debris, and she was pulled free. The woman was discovered under the back door, which had been knocked off its hinges by the force of the slide. Falling over her 1ike a protective covering, it saved her life. The baby was found near by, still in its smashed baby chair. Neither of the two was seriously injured. That afternoon still another slide struck, sending snow cascading into the living room of another house. A man shoveling snow off the roof of the house when the slide hit was buried up to his neck, although he was able to free himself. Nine houses were destroyed or damaged by the three slides. By afternoon there were reports of minor slides all through the Wallace- Wardner- Kellog area. The only other slide on record in Wardner occured in 1950. Old- timers in the little town couldn't recall a situation like 29 |
