Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

HIGH WATER

Remembering the Kamloops flood of 1948

Jun 14, 2022 | 4:53 PM

KAMLOOPS — 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the 1972 floods which devastated Oak Hills and caused damage to low-lying properties across the city.

However, 24 years before that, there was another high water event in Kamloops. 1948 was one of the most significant flood years of the 20th Century. CFJC Today caught up with one resident who remembers that flood like it was yesterday.

John Matonovich was just 15 years old back in 1948. His family had moved from Alberta just one year prior and settled in Brock. He remembers spending Sundays in Riverside Park as a young man.

Image Credit: CFJC Today

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“We were all farmers in Brocklehurst,” Matonovich remembers. “We used to come down and picnic, have our lunch in Riverside and watch the ball game. That was it on Sundays.”

That spring, the Thompson River in Kamloops peaked around June 1 or 2. Matonovich remembers the rivers rising quickly due to conditions similar to what we’ve experienced this spring.

“In 1948, it was cold like it was now. We didn’t have a spring; it was colder than hell. Then it was rain, and then it got hot, all of a sudden. Both day and night; during the night we had 19 degrees, and during the daytime, we had 25, 28. Both rivers came up at the same time and that’s where the problem was.”

Back then, the city hadn’t made any significant flood preparations. Matonovich remembers huge parts of the North Shore were hit particularly hard.

“From the slough [near McArthur Island] to Tranquille Road, the water was halfway up — from there, right up to the CPR tracks was solid water. You couldn’t see where the river was, you couldn’t see where McArthur Island was. It was all under water.”

The Kamloops Museum and Archives has photos that date back as far as the historic flood of 1894. While the high water in 1948 wasn’t nearly that bad, there are still some iconic images from that flood in the collection — including a copy of one that Matonovich used to have.

Image Credit: Kamloops Museum & Archives/CFJC Today

“It’s too bad I lost that damn picture that I had because I had one of a seaplane tied to a bridge [near 1st Avenue], but I lost that damn thing. I didn’t have a camera, because I was only 15.”

While the city is cautiously optimistic that the weather will cooperate, Matonovich believes you can’t be too sure.

“I hope I’m wrong because if it gets too hot again, we’re going to be in trouble. I hope someone comes and tells me, ‘John, you were wrong,’ because this is one time I don’t want to be right.”