Blizzard conditions wreak havoc on local highways
The blizzard that swept into southern Manitoba last Friday had a bigger impact than many other winter storms in recent memory.
It led to a rare provincial emergency alert that shut down highways across southern Manitoba, with police services and emergency personnel stretched to the limit in responding to multiple serious accidents, including a number involving multiple vehicles.
It was all a result of an Alberta Clipper that even led to local emergency services setting up physical barriers to try to keep motorists off closed local highways.
The day saw winds gusting up to 100 kph, and there were not only numerous multiple vehicle accidents but power outages as well.
It was followed by another wintry day Monday that saw extreme cold warnings with wind chill values that were in the -44 to -50 range as bitterly cold Arctic air remained over the region.
The high number of accidents across the entire region Friday included a six-vehicle collision six miles south of PTH 23 on PTH 3 near the Winkler Bible Camp.
A post at the time on social media by Roland Fire noted highway conditions were “deplorable” and urged people to “please stay home” as it dealt with multiple vehicles in the ditch and stuck on the road.
At nearly the same time, another incident involved a vehicle hitting a semi-trailer that had jackknifed across PTH 30 about a mile south of PTH 14.
There were then reports of many drivers disregarding the fact highways were closed, with Miami Fire and Rescue offering this reminder to motorists thinking of braving the roads:
“May we remind you that if caught you can be fined for travelling on closed roads. Long story short, it’s not worth it! Keep yourself as well as other motorists safe, as well as your first responders!”
Possible fines include $298 for light vehicle drivers and $672 for heavy vehicle drivers who drive on closed roads and $672 for persons who instruct light vehicle drivers to use a closed road and $1,296 for heavy vehicle operators who instruct their drivers to use a closed road.
For the most serious incidents, maximum fines of up to $5,000 for drivers of heavy vehicles and up to $2,000 for drivers of light vehicles are possible. Convicted drivers also receive two demerit points.
A vast majority of local school divisions cancelled classes both Friday and Monday, but one exception on Friday was Western School Division, where schools remained open but rural school bus service was cancelled.
“We’re always looking at weather conditions, road conditions … seeing what’s going on in other divisions as well,” said superintendent Stephen Ross, who noted there can be such varying conditions that also develop or change rapidly or unexpectedly.
“I think, clearly, with Discovery Trails being opened up now and it being in a wide open area, it’s a very different situation,” he added. “I think we’re certainly reflecting on Friday, and part of considering our practices going ahead is understanding that maybe before Discovery Trails had opened, we could operate in town with sheltered schools without too many difficulties, but maybe that’s not the case with Discovery Trails … we may have to rethink it.”
“It really, in many respects, depends on the circumstances,” noted Garden Valley School Division superintendent Dan Ward on the decision to close schools. He explained they look at a combination of factors including both current conditions and the forecast, and they aim to make a decision by about 6:45 a.m. In this area though, at that time, conditions were actually still good Friday morning.
“Based on what was happening kind of northward, we made the pre-emptive decision to close schools and not to run buses,” said Ward. “It’s not an exact science. It’s sometimes difficult. We have spotters throughout the school division … and we do our very best to have all those reports assessed by 6:30.”
As the brutal cold continues to grip southern Manitoba, Environment Canada offers some general guidelines to keep in mind when there are extreme weather or cold warnings, including how the risks are greater for young children, older adults, people with chronic illnesses, people working outdoors and those without proper shelter.
Frostbite can develop within minutes on exposed skin, especially with wind chill, and if it’s too cold for you to stay outside, it’s too cold for your pet to stay outside, they remind Manitobans.
And, of course, people are urged to keep emergency supplies in their vehicles, such as extra blankets and jumper cables.
