Tumbler Ridge

Tumbler Ridge is a district municipality in the foothills of the B.C. Rockies in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Peace River Regional District. With a population of 2,399 (2021) living in a townsite, the municipality encompasses an area of 1,558 km² (602 sq mi) of mostly Crown land. The townsite is located near the confluence of the Murray River and Flatbed Creek and the intersection of Highway 52 and Highway 29 and includes the site of the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and Tumbler Ridge Airport. The municipality is part of the Peace River South provincial electoral district and the Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies federal riding.

Tumbler Ridge is a planned community, with the housing and infrastructure built simultaneously in 1981 by the provincial government to service the coal industry as part of the British Columbia Resources Investment Corporation's Northeast Coal Development. In 1981, a consortium of Japanese steel mills agreed to purchase 100 million tonnes of coal over 15 years for US$7.5 billion from two mining companies, Denison Mines Inc. and the Teck Corporation, who were to operate the Quintette mine and the Bullmoose mine respectively. The uncertainty dissuaded investment and kept the economy from diversifying. When price reductions were forced onto the mines, the Quintette mine was closed in 2000 production and the town lost about half its population. Coal prices began to rise after the turn of the century, leading to the opening of the Peace River Coal Trend mine by Northern Energy & Mining Inc. (now owned by Anglo American Met Coal) and the Wolverine Mine, originally owned by Western Canadian Coal, which was purchased by Walter Energy in 2010. Walter went bankrupt in 2015, and their Canadian assets—including the Wolverine Mine—were purchased by Conuma Coal in 2016.

After dinosaur footprints and fossils were discovered in the municipality, along with fossils of Triassic fishes and Cretaceous plants, the Peace Region Palaeontology Research Centre opened in 2003, followed by a dinosaur museum. The study of the area led to a recognition of its geological importance and listing in the UNESCO Global Geopark Network. Nearby recreational destinations include numerous trails, mountains, waterfalls, snowmobiling areas and provincial parks, such as Monkman Provincial Park, Bearhole Lake Provincial Park, and Gwillim Lake Provincial Park.

History

Early history

Archaeological evidence shows a human presence dating back 3,000 years. The nomadic Sekani, followed by the Dane-zaa and then the Cree, periodically lived in temporary settlements around the future municipality. Formal exploratory and surveying expeditions were conducted by S. Prescott Fay, with Robert Cross and Fred Brewster in 1914, J.C. Gwillim in 1919, Edmund Spieker in 1920, and John Holzworth in 1923. Spieker coined the name Tumbler Ridge, referring to the mountains northwest of the future town, by altering Gwillim's map that named them Tumbler Range. Permanent settlers were squatters, five families by 1920, who maintained trap lines.

Coal extraction

In the 1950s and 1960s, oil and natural gas exploration and logging was conducted through the area, and 15 significant coal deposits were discovered. Coal prices rose after the 1973 oil crisis leading to 40 government studies examining the viability of accessing the coal, given the 1,130 km (700 mi) to the nearest port and the mountainous barrier.

With these coal deposits in mind, a purchasing agreement was signed in 1981 by two Canadian mining companies, a consortium of Japanese steel mills, and the governments of British Columbia and Canada. As part of the deal, the provincial government committed, under the North East Coal Development plan, to build a new town near the deposits, two highways off Highway 97, a power line from the W. A. C. Bennett Dam at Hudson's Hope, and a branch rail line through the Rocky Mountains. An alternative of using work camps staffed by people from Dawson Creek and Chetwynd was also considered. Massive initial investments were required as planning for the new town began in 1976 with the objective of having a fully functioning town ready before residents arrived.

The community's 1977 conceptual plan estimated a population of 3,568 residents in 1981, 7,940 in 1985, and 10,584 in 1987, after which the level was expected to stabilize. The planners of the community advised the mining companies to hire workers who were married, believing they would live in Tumbler Ridge longer and reduce employment turnover. Coordinated through the provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs, the community, regional infrastructure, and mining plants were all built simultaneously. When the municipality was incorporated in April 1981 the area was completely forested. During that year building sites and roadways were cleared and in the winter the water and sewer system was built. In 1982, houses and other buildings were constructed. A high school and two elementary schools were built. Full production at the mines was reached the following year. The population rose to 3,833 people in 1984. The 1986 Canadian census, the first census to recognize Tumbler Ridge as a census subdivision, recorded 4,566 residents.

In 1984, world coal prices were dropping and the Japanese consortium requested a reduction in the price of coal from the Tumbler Ridge mines. As price reduction requests continued, the concern over the viability of the mines led the BC Assessment Authority to lower the 1987 property assessments for the Quintette mine from CAD$156 million to $89 million and the Bullmoose mine $70 million to $43 million. This lowered their taxes as they tried to enforce the purchasing agreement at the Supreme Court of Canada. Their 1990 ruling required the Quintette Operations Company to reduce coal prices and reimburse the Japanese consortium $4.6 million. The company responded by reducing production, cutting employment, and applying for court protection from creditors. This allowed Teck to acquire 50% interest and take over management of the Quintette mine, but it was unable to stop further job losses. Tumbler Ridge's population, which had peaked in 1991 at 4,794 people, began to decline.

Decline

As most residents left town, apartment blocks were closed and the mine companies bought back all but 11 houses in the town. After 30% of the workforce had been laid off, new contracts with the Japanese consortium were signed in 1997, allowing re-hirings to begin, but with lower export levels. The North East Coal Development was projected to create a net benefit of CAD$0.9 billion (2000), but incurred a net loss of $2.8 billion and half the expected regional employment.

The population declined as many residents were unable to find other work in the town, even as a sawmill for specialty woods opened in 1999. After Teck closed the Quintette mine in August 2000 and shifted production to the lower cost Bullmoose mine, the municipal council established the Tumbler Ridge Revitalization Task Force to investigate ways to boost and diversify the economy. The Task Force negotiated the return of the housing stock from the mines to the free market, grants from the province to become debt-free, and stabilized funds from the province for healthcare and education. The discovery of dinosaur tracks in 2000 by two local boys led to major fossil and bone discoveries from the Cretaceous Period. To survey and study the finds, government funding was secured to found both the Tumbler Ridge Museum Foundation and Peace Region Palaeontology Research Centre.

Renewed growth

The community went through a second boom-and-bust cycle beginning in 2004 with the increase in world coal prices. Western Canadian Coal opened new open-pit mining operations creating the Brule (Dillon) mine using some of the Bullmoose mining infrastructure, between the townsite and Chetwynd, and the Wolverine mine. These mines were purchased by Walter Energy in 2010, but world coal prices began to drop again in 2011 and in April 2014, Walter put their Canadian operations into care and maintenance, laying off nearly 700 people. Similarly, Anglo American placed their Trend mine in care and maintenance in 2015. These second generation coal mines were not as dominant in town affairs as Quinette and Bullmoose were such that, while as of 2016 there were no operating coal mines, the town had achieved some success in other activities, such as wind power, forestry and tourism. Most significantly, the area around Tumbler Ridge was listed as North America's second UNESCO Global Geoparks promoting its geological significance.

Contemporary history

On June 8, 2023, the community of Tumbler Ridge was evacuated due to the 2023 Canadian wildfires.

On February 10, 2026, nine people were killed in a mass shooting at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and in the home of the alleged shooter in the community. It was suspected that 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar carried out the attack. Van Rootselaar was found dead from a presumed self-inflicted gunshot wound at the school.