Between Saturday, Feb. 2 and 10 a.m. Friday morning (Feb. 8) there were 12 collisions called in to the Quesnel RCMP where damage exceeded $1,000.
Of those 12 collisions, there were no major injuries and only passengers from two vehicles were taken to hospital with very minor injuries, according to Sgt. Chris Riddle of the Quesnel RCMP.
Sgt. Riddle says most of the incidents involved only one vehicle, and clarified that damage to someone’s headlights, for example, can cost more than $1,000.
The roads have been icy since the beginning of the month, resulting in higher-than-usual accident rates.
Emcon, the company responsible for clearing the highways, has taken to Twitter, encouraging motorists to drive to road conditions, not the posted speed.
Incident North of Quesnel now clear.
— Emcon Quesnel (@EmconQuesnel) February 8, 2019
Please drive to road conditions, NOT the speed limit sign.
Last night Emcon also tweeted that they were preparing the roads for a calcium chloride application today, which is a chemical used to soften and remove the ice on the road, and which they say will allow the sand to stick to and embed itself into the ice.
A second extreme cold warning is in place again today, as a cold arctic airmass has settled over the B.C. Central Interior. The combination of cold temperatures and wind are expected to cause a wind chill value of -40C overnight.
The wind chill is expected to ease by Saturday afternoon.
READ MORE: Extreme cold warning issued for Quesnel and Williams Lake
READ MORE: Rollover on Highway 97
Heather Norman
Community Reporter
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