ESTEVAN - Snow removal efforts in Estevan started at 4 a.m. on Wednesday, just a few hours after the historic snowstorm hit Energy City.
Ever since then, city crews fortified by all available contractors have been playing a catch-up game with the snow and wind, creating huge windrows in a matter of hours.
The public is asked to stay home as much as possible, park their vehicles in driveways if they can, and also make sure they don't take their cars out, as most roads are unpassable for two-wheel drive vehicles.
Norm Mack, roads and drainage manager with the City of Estevan’s public works division, said Thursday afternoon that it's been tough since early Wednesday, and it seems that it's nowhere close to being done yet.
"It's been challenging. With the ongoing snow today again and the winds throughout the night, we try to reopen roads. We were there two or three times yesterday. And right now we're just in the process of trying to get trails down roads that are completely blocked. We had lots of completely blocked streets this morning," Mack said. "Our focus right now is to get some kind of path down every street where people can get out of their homes or their driveways and just keep plowing snow."
Mack said this snowstorm that seems to have beaten at least some historic records for Estevan turned out different from what they expected, and they had to readjust their strategy on the go, to ensure maximum safety of residents.
"We were watching radar and satellite environment, and Tuesday night, we were on the edge of it, as it was heading east towards Manitoba. But during the course of the night, the whole storm system veered off and went north and northwest, right overtop of us. That changed everything. We got a lot more snow than we anticipated. It's one of the biggest snowfalls Estevan has ever seen … in that short of a period from cutting grass one day to six-foot drifts in people's yards. It's pretty amazing," Mack said.
The precipitation, along with the wind, blocked many streets in Estevan. A lot of drivers that had to go somewhere got stuck on the roads all over the community. Even 4x4 trucks in some areas couldn't make it through the drifts. And while the city crews are doing their best to maintain the traffic flow, there is not much they can do unless the weather starts co-operating.
"That tells you how much snow there really is, and until the wind goes down, we won't gain any ground on it. The wind has to go down. They are forecasting snow today … and then on Sunday again. So it looks like we'll be working through Easter weekend," Mack said.
City crews have been working almost around the clock with just a few hours of obligatory breaks. They got every piece of equipment available with the city and many local contractors helping out with loaders and graders.
Not only did the storm bring an enormous amount of precipitation, but it also came after an extended warm period, which resulted in even more challenges for snow removal. Mack explained that after previous warmer weeks the city's snow dumps are wet and muddy. The snow accumulated over the winter was gradually melting there, and now there is a good chance they won't be able to drive in there.
"It's mid-April, and it's not like your normal snowfall. Our snow dump sites … are now soft and muddy underneath. And we don't know if we'll be able to haul to those snow dump sites. So we might have to try something different and I'm not sure what we're going to do. Some decisions have to be made. [We might have to] windrow it all and put it in the center and let it melt off because we just won't be able to get our trucks into where it would need to be dumped because of the mud," Mack explained.
He added that they will have to decide on further steps within the next day or two. But currently, their main priority is to ensure that the streets are open. Crews have been working in the Pleasantdale area, Wellock Road and around the hospital to unplug those arteries. The northwest area of the city was the most difficult because of the wind direction and big open spaces.
At this time, the equipment puts the snow wherever they can put it, be it the middle of broader roads, sides of other streets or some corners. With it being the middle of April, the snow is not going to last anyway, and the city has to watch how much money they put into this snow removal effort. Mack said they will regroup, look into the weather forecasts and come up with a further strategy, which will also have to address the drainage issues that may arise if such a significant amount of snow melts all at the same time.
