diff --git a/nsqd/channel.go b/nsqd/channel.go
index e6eba0cf8..af20cfc50 100644
--- a/nsqd/channel.go
+++ b/nsqd/channel.go
@@ -200,8 +200,15 @@ func (c *Channel) Empty() error {
 		client.Empty()
 	}
 
+	clientMsgChan := c.clientMsgChan
 	for {
 		select {
+		case _, ok := <-clientMsgChan:
+			if !ok {
+				// c.clientMsgChan may be closed while in this loop
+				// so just remove it from the select so we can make progress
+				clientMsgChan = nil
+			}
 		case <-c.memoryMsgChan:
 		default:
 			goto finish
diff --git a/nsqd/topic.go b/nsqd/topic.go
index 4fa2a953d..9a571cb19 100644
--- a/nsqd/topic.go
+++ b/nsqd/topic.go
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ func (t *Topic) messagePump() {
 				continue
 			}
 		case <-t.channelUpdateChan:
-			chans = chans[:0]
+			chans = make([]*Channel, 0)
 			t.RLock()
 			for _, c := range t.channelMap {
 				chans = append(chans, c)