Last of stranded travellers on snow-battered Alberta highway have managed to leave: RCMP

springtime is definitely non in the transmit end-to-end Alberta, with a spring storm bringing high winds and heavy snow that left many motorists stranded overnight on a northern highway. 

“You kind of lie down, but you also don't want to fall asleep in case it gets moving and you [become] the guy then holding it up.”

Sgt. Sabrina Clayton from the Wood Buffalo RCMP detachment said that as of 2:30 p.m. On Friday, about 300 vehicles were stranded — about 100 close to Fort McMurray, and an additional 200 closer to Mariana Lake.

She shared that most vehicles were no longer occupied, as some people escaped by walking along the highway, crossing to the southbound side of the road when it was still open and then getting picked up.

The RCMP said it advises people who are stranded to stay with their vehicles as emergency crews, tow trucks, snowplows and sanding trucks are active in the area.

On Friday night, the RCMP said officers had been able to check on all motorists who remained stranded.

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) provided an update shortly before 7:30 p.m. To say it had sent buses, food, water and plows to help those still stranded. The buses were meant to take stranded people to several drop-off points in Fort McMurray.

Municipal officials noted that Highway 63 remained impassable. However, they said tow trucks and heavy equipment operators had been making progress on moving abandoned vehicles and that they were being temporarily towed to "mile marker 160 at the Conoco turnoff."

The snow started falling on Thursday. On Friday morning, Environment Canada issued a warning for snowfall totalling 30 to 50 centimetres south of Fort McMurray in the Wood Buffalo and Lac La Biche area.

According to an update from the RMWB, snow accumulation in some areas had already topped 60 centimetres — about two feet.

Motorists stranded for 15 hours on Alberta highway due to heavy snow

“I don't see movement. A plow drove by, ... Seems like there’s 20 cars still ahead of me," he said.

“You start to get cold and then you start questioning turning the truck on again, then burn more gas to get warm.”

A video from Kane shows a helicopter arriving early Friday afternoon to deliver supplies to stranded motorists.

Fort McMurray resident Mohamed Tarrabin made his way to the scene to try to help. He said he saw scenes that "you don't see except in a third world or something."

"There's actually a leader from Mikisew First Nation, his name is Calvin Waquan. ... He's actually run out of the vehicle holding his son because there's no more fuel in his car, the heater's not working. So he put him in a blanket and he ran with his kid," Tarrabin said.

Part of Highway 63, the main road leading to Fort McMurray which is located about 430 kilometres north of Edmonton, was closed in both directions on Friday, as icy road conditions and poor visibility led to multiple crashes. Affected stretches included both directions from Mariana Lake to Fort McMurray, as well as northbound from Wandering River.

Highway 881 was also impassable. Two semi-trucks collided on Highway 881 just north of Heart Lake, with the resulting debris blocking the roadway in both directions, according to Lac La Biche RCMP.

Travel is not recommended by RCMP in several parts of the province.

"EMS was unable to get through to them, so the RCMP, we had to prioritize that emergency," he said.

"Emergency services have also been on site providing supplies and fuel to stranded motorists," Khalo said.

"The priority is to safely clear the roads as quickly as possible. The highway will reopen once it is safe to do so.”

The RMWB said it has stepped in "to help residents get home safely," even though the area is outside its municipal boundary and the highways are a provincial responsibility.

Even ordinary citizens jumped in to help.

Tarrabin said he and some co-workers spent the night handing out food, fuel and water, with assistance from the RCMP.

They filled up six trucks and headed out, Tarrabin said. They began gathering supplies at around 1 a.m. And didn’t come back until 7 a.m., with some still out at 10:30 a.m.

"One lady, I knocked on her window and then when she saw us, she was like she's seen angels coming down to help her out and she was so happy. She couldn't believe it."

At about 2 a.m., Tarrabin said he heard from the owner of Jomaa's Pizza.

"He called his crew and they all went [to] open the restaurant and they started cooking all the pizza for us," he said. "And they didn't take a dime for it.

"This is common in Fort McMurray. We had the fire, we had the flood and people come together. ... [What is]special about this community is the community spirit. We just have to put the call out there and be genuine about it and everybody is going to answer the call."

The storm didn't just affect northeastern Alberta.

Powerful wind gusts up to 90 km/h created challenging travel conditions in a number of central Alberta communities, including Olds and Sundre, and further south towards Calgary. Other parts of the province were seeing winds between 30 km/h and 50 km/h.

Environment Canada said winds were expected to weaken later Friday.

In the village of Vilna, 150 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, farmer Kyle Latimer was heading out to check on his cows when he saw a school bus in a ditch by the side of the road.

"Fortunately, it was empty. Just the driver," he said.

Latimer said he was on his tractor at the time and tried to tow the bus out but was unsuccessful.

"I had to go back for a larger tractor," he explained. "[I] came back later, and they had mechanical that had been sent out by the bus line.

"We navigated around and plowed some more snow and then just pulled them out real hard. Took quite a few tugs to get it out."

He said the road had "significant drifting snow — two to three feet, drifts across parts of the roads. Visibility at times would be very limited. And ... Blowing and drifting snow and cold temperatures for sure."

In Edmonton, residents who had to rescue patio furniture skittering away in howling winds Thursday night woke up to a blanket of snow, with more flakes landing in horizontal sheets as the day wore on.

RCMP issued a tow ban for Highway 21, from Fort Saskatchewan south to Highway 16, as well as for Highway 16 to Elk Island National Park. The RCMP said blowing and drifting snow was causing reduced visibility and dangerous driving conditions that made tow operations too dangerous.

Parts of northern Saskatchewan through to northern Manitoba were also walloped by snow and wind. In Saskatchewan, some areas in the northeast were hit with anywhere between 18 to 25 centimetres of snow and more was expected into the weekend.

Brian Proctor, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the snow was welcome in some ways.

"Heavy snowfall in the boreal forest will help us moving forward in a better way [as we enter] forest fire season," he said.

Reporter

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