The Smoky River basin is frequently a major contributor to early spring runoff entering the Peace River. This runoff plays a critical role in controlling the timing, progression, and severity of river ice breakup along the Peace River, with direct implications for flood risk in the town of Peace River. Despite this importance, breakup processes on the Smoky River itself have not been systematically characterized. Existing observations span several decades but are fragmented, consisting largely of sporadic monitoring efforts by provincial agencies and industrial operators, with limited collated records across years or spatial scales. This work presents efforts to collate historical breakup observations for the Smoky River basin using a combination of fixed-wing aircraft reconnaissance, satellite remote sensing, and field records. These datasets are used to identify typical spatial and temporal patterns in breakup progression. Based on this evidence, a set of representative breakup sequence scenarios will be developed to describe both typical and anomalous breakup behaviour within the basin. These scenarios are intended to inform the development of a combined hydrological–hydraulic modelling framework capable of simulating ice-affected breakup hydrographs. Ultimately, this work aims to improve flood risk modelling and support better anticipation of breakup-related flooding along the Peace River.