Jackknifed semi-trailers, a smashed motor home and a van in a creek are just some of the impacts of this week's snowfall. Snow and wind warnings that continued into Wednesday night on the Coast caused widespread power outages, school closures, transit service cancellations and many residents to stay home. Those who did battle the roads faced thick snow and later ice, with the Sunshine Coast RCMP responding to at least 11 accidents between Monday and Wednesday.
Accidents ranged from single vehicles to the more serious, such as a car being side-swiped by a snow plow, according to Const. Trish Dobson. Vehicles passing slower vehicles were a concern for RCMP.
On Monday, two semi-trailers blocked Highway 101 in Roberts Creek for about two hours after jackknifing across the road. A vehicle in front of the two tractor trailers had not been able to make it up a hill and stopped, causing the trucks to stop."As soon as they stopped they could not gather traction," Dobson explained. "As they tried to, they started to swing out, causing basically a jackknife blocking the roadway." Capilano Highway Services crew plowed and sanded until the trucks were removed with chains. The ordeal lasted about two hours. Another serious crash occurred at Davis Bay. A vehicle veered off the road to the right, slipped on ice and flipped upside down, striking a large, new motor home in a driveway, Dobson said.
On Wednesday, a van crashed into the creek off Highway 101 near the Wakefield development in West Sechelt and was later towed out.
Dobson said some of the accidents on the Coast caused minor injuries, with people being treated at St. Mary's Hospital.ICBC dial-a-claim calls were down 14 per cent on Monday for the Lower Mainland region (including the Sunshine Coast) and were up 14 per cent on Tuesday. However, as claims are not always made immediately, ICBC spokesman Doug Henderson expects it will take weeks or months before ICBC knows the true impact of the snow storm.
Along with the vehicles, Sunshine Coast transit buses were working their way through the snowy roads. Bus service was cancelled Tuesday along Lower Road and Beach Avenue in Roberts Creek as well as in Langdale Heights. Handy Dart service was also cancelled and resumed limited service Wednesday.
School District No. 46 buses brought students to school on Wednesday, before students were sent back home a few hours later due to road conditions worsening. Schools were closed Tuesday. Monday had been a scheduled professional development day.
Capilano College's Sunshine Coast campus was closed Monday and re-opened Tuesday and Wednesday.
Some of those staying home from work or school were left without power. Roberts Creek, Gambier Island, Keats Island, Gibsons and Egmont were problem areas for hydro outages, affecting a couple thousand customers. Three hundred crew members were working on the Coast, Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland to restore power. Snow was weighing down trees and breaking branches onto power lines. Crews faced the challenge of getting through roads covered in deep snow to get into sites needing repair, according to BC Hydro spokeswoman Arlene Shwetz. In some cases, whole Hydro poles were down. Hydro was warning the public to stay away from downed wires that may be live, after hearing reports of people trying to cut down trees on wires before Hydro crews arrived.
The outages began when the snow hit last Saturday. On Wednesday afternoon, power had been restored to all but 30 customers.
BC Ferries service between Langdale and Horseshoe Bay was running on time during the snowy weather. The Sechelt airport was not affected by the snowy conditions because there were not any scheduled flights or charters expected to come and go, according to airport manager Doug Chapman.
Environment Canada expected 10 to 20 cm of snow to hit the Coast Wednesday before turning to rain on Thursday, with winds from 50 to 70 km/hour.
