In the mining town of Frank, Alberta, why didn't the geologists of that time?

Question

realize the potential of Turtle mountain to slide? Maybe they were more concerned with getting the mining industry going and not the safety of the village.

Answer 1

Maybe. In a brief internet review of the event, I couldn't find any mention of the coal mine geologists in the small town of Frank in 1903. Perhaps there is some information in the historical reports on the event. However, it would be my guess that there were no more than 1-3 geologists, if any, in this small town and that they were (a) optimistic, (b)not sufficiently familiar with landslide processes and (c) suffered from lack of imagination--as many might. It was a huge rock avalanche of a magnitude that very few geologists would have ever observed. Would they have deliberately placed themselves, their families, and their friends in such danger if they had realized the risk? Hard to imagine unless they were truly desperate for jobs. Whoever was there was likely to have perished with the rest of the town.

People, including geologists, are optimistic about their chances of surviving disasters--which might explain why people are still building homes below the area of Tuttle Mountain that might be the next to go:
'David Coutts, MLA for Crowsnest and Alberta's minister of government services, said he doesn't get a sense of urgency for a new [slide warning] system, and finds the cost a barrier.
"(Area residents) know the mountain, they understand the mountain, they've lived with it with it all of their life," he said.
"Whether monitoring equipment is there or not, that's not going to deter them from living in the place they call home." ' http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2003/04/29/frankslide_030429.html
So...if modern geologists are warning people about the dangers, and nobody cares sufficiently to get out of the way...its also possible that geologists made similar warnings circa 1903. Another possibility to consider.