Dynamite Blasts in Vancouver's Early Days

It's April 4, I'm Cory with the story, and this is Canada News today, local news powered

by AI.

Back in the 1910s, Vancouver was booming and needed to clear land fast for new homes in

spots like Caristale.

Instead of modern tools, crews turned to Dynamite to blast out massive tree stumps left from

old logging ops.

Dynamite was everywhere then, thanks to mining and railroads, with factories even on nearby

islands.

Officers got hired to rip those stumps up or shatter them into bits, making it quicker

and less backbreaking than digging by hand.

But safety was rough folks.

Got her bad.

132-year-old dad died in March 1914, when flying wood hit him from 130 feet away, even

though he ducked behind a stump.

Other close calls piled up too, like chunks smashing through house rules with women and

kids inside, or a whole stump crashing into a South Vancouver.

Hall in 1912, witnesses scattered and police started probing.

These blasts showed how wild early city building got a far cry from today's strict permits

and arborists keeping things safe as Vancouver grows on.