Crews combat rapid freezing issues in latest snow event

The long weekend of snow has finally backed off but not before causing extremely dangerous driving conditions in and around Kelowna, with city officials and police warning motorists to stay off the roads if possible.

The latest snowstorm, the third in the last four days, caused several accidents with extreme slippery conditions amidst rapid and constantly freezing conditions.

In Glenmore, for example, where some roads were covered in a sheet of ice, an accident involving seven vehicles closed Begbie Road, which also affected the surrounding streets. There were several instances of vehicles stranded on local roads, especially on hilly sections like Chute Lake Road, leading from southwest Mission to town. There were crashes on Hwy 97 through the city and north, near the airport, too. Police called on the public to slow down.

“One of the biggest challenges we have is a lot of instantaneous freezing at the surface levels, even though they were treated with calcium chloride,” manager of infrastructure operations with the city, Geert Bos, told Kelowna10.

Bos said the combination of the high winds and the incoming Arctic air meant there was still a lot of moisture around the streets that never had a chance to dry out [since Friday’s dump].

“It creates a rapid icing scenario that’s very, very difficult to combat no matter what chemicals you are using,” he explained, adding crews had put close to 50,000 litres of calcium chloride on key priority routes Sunday followed by sand/salt mixture in advance of the latest storm. However, he said the rapid freezing caused the chemicals to lose their effectiveness.

Up to 15 cm of snow fell from the early hours of Monday with another 5 cm coming before things were expected to ease by mid-afternoon. Strong northwest winds caused blowing snow in parts, making driving particularly hazardous and slow going. Up to 20 cm fell on the Okanagan Connector Merritt to Kelowna with the threat of 10 cm more by late Monday.

Bos said they had close to 40 people working the streets by late morning Monday using 22 different units including street graders and machinery on sidewalks and walking trails.

As always, Priority 1 and 2 routes – main arterials and connectors - would see work done of them first before crews look at moving to the residential P3 and P4 streets.

He said the higher elevation areas to the city’s northwestern parts were the focus Monday, aimed at keeping traffic moving. Snow removal was not a priority.

“If you don’t have to go out then please don’t,” was his key message, especially with temperatures expected to dip to -10 C Monday night.

While city crews were trying to get on top of the challenging rapid freeze situation, there were also plenty of people putting their backs into snow clearance.

Francisco Villa, who runs a residential snow shovelling business, said demand took off since he posted his services on social media Sunday.

“Things have been good… we’re seeing how busy things are going to get. We’re pretty sure we’re going to need another truck and crew,” he said.

He has a message for anyone feeling daunted by the big snow piling up outside their home.

“Don’t stress about it. It happens every year. If you want to call us, go ahead. [But] if you want to shovel yourself, go ahead, just do it safely.”