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Bedford Channel freezes at Fort Langley

Cold snap creates a sheet of ice on the Fraser River
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The Fraser River is icing over at Langley again, as a cold snap drops temperatures well below normal.

Wout Brouwer shared photos of the Bedford Channel, which divides Fort Langley from MacMillan Island, on Wednesday, Dec. 21.

The south arm of the Fraser has largely frozen over, with some areas of broken ice and open water near the shoreline.

Although ice floes are fairly common in the Fraser River during cold snaps, it’s rare to get ice forming bank to bank, even on the Bedford Channel.

The river did freeze bank-to-bank more frequently in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Historical photos from the 1920s show people ice skating on the river at New Westminster, well downstream of where the river usually freezes now.

The most recent time when the river froze in Langley was just last year.

Another cold snap, just after Christmas, saw the first bank-to-bank freezing in years.

The last deep freeze for the Fraser River through to Surrey and North Delta was in 1962.

In 1862, the river froze solid as far west as Richmond. Ice was between 13 and 25 inches thick from bank to bank, blocking all river traffic by boat.

Reports at the time indicated American cattle importers landed a herd at Point Roberts, drove it through Delta, and then took the animals straight across the river to New Westminster, then the largest community on the mainland.

Cold weather is expected to continue through to Friday, after which temperatures rise and rain is in the forecast for the weekend.

READ MORE: Fraser River freezes short to shore between Langley and Maple Ridge


Have a story tip? Email: matthew.claxton@langleyadvancetimes.com
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Matthew Claxton

About the Author: Matthew Claxton

Raised in Langley, as a journalist today I focus on local politics, crime and homelessness.
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