Quesnel was hit hard by an large early snow storm. Beginning on Sunday and continuing until early afternoon Monday, drivers were challenged with as much as 12 inches of snow in the Bouchie Lake area and several inches elsewhere.
HMC area manager John Andrushko said the roads were bare south of Marguerite Ferry and even Prince George, where the majority of the snow was predicted, received less than our area.
HMC’s winter shifts were in place in the Wells area Oct. 14 and in Quesnel were slated for full winter shifts Oct. 28.
However Andrushko said they were out overnight Friday with wet snow and rain already falling.
“We were out Saturday, all night Saturday night and Sunday we were out with everything we had,” he said.
“Every grader and piece of equipment was on the road.”
They continued to work on the roads right through Sunday night and Monday morning and once the snow stopped for a while Monday afternoon, Andrushko said they took the opportunity to do some clean up.
“We were salting as well, in prep of the next snow fall. That leaves some salt residue for a bit of a jump on the next weather event.”
He went on to say they’re now fully on winter shifts and all their sand and salt piles are in place along with salt brine also ready to go.
“We’re watching all the forecasts and if there’s any question of weather getting close, we have people on shift and on call for overtime to make sure we are prepared.”
With the weather forecast for much warmer temperatures by the weekend, Andrushko said this is a good wake up call for the public and a good test of their equipment.
He remarked about seeing many vehicles in the various tire outlets on his way in to town.
“It’s definitely snow tire time,” he said.
Andrushko advises the public they can call the office at any time, night or day, for conditions HMC might not be aware of and also suggests people check drivebc website where they can not only find what road conditions exist but also view the webcams for our area.
“There’s lots of information out there for the public to know the conditions,” he said.
He also wanted to remind the public to be aware that plows and other snow removal equipment are now on the road regularly and advises drivers never to pass these vehicles, especially on the right side.
“It’s hard for our machinery drivers to see vehicles behind them,” Andrushko said.
“Be patient, they’ll pull over when its safe to do so and
let traffic get by them.
“But personally, I prefer to slow down and stay behind the plow.”