'The nature of the beast': Drivers in Sask. caught up in winter storm

Winter conditions arrived in Saskatchewan furiously on Saturday. High winds paired with heavy snow led to whiteout conditions on most roads and highways in the province, forcing many to close for hours.

The closure of Highway 1 left rock band ‘The Standstills’ stranded at a gas station in the village of Chaplin. They left Oshawa, Ont. Thursday to start a nationwide tour.

However, when the band's cross-country road trip approached Saskatchewan on Saturday, the weather quickly turned dangerous.

“It got to the point where there was zero visability,” said band member Jonny Fox. “The black ice was extremely bad and the wind, too. We were literally crawling across, maybe 15 to 20 km/h.”

Fox and his wife Renee Couture were forced to stay in their vehicle overnight.

“We just grabbed all our clothes from our suitcases and bundled up,” said Fox. “We were lucky enough that we had each other. But we were really concerned about people who might be travelling alone.”

“Touring Canada is an experience in itself,” said Couture. “We always seem to come through in the fall. This weather definitely caught us off guard.”

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Storm chaser Jenny Hagan drove through the same storm near Kindersely, Sask.

“You literally could not see the roadway,” said Hagan.

She said the province’s highway hotline is a great tool to help drivers decide when it’s safe to hit the road, but warnings need to be taken seriously.

“What can happen is you may end up in a road closure situation,” she said. “It’s not safe for ploughs to be out and it’s not safe for emergency crews to get out there to you.”

While Hagan got home safe, she believes it’s important to always be prepared for any situation.

“You’re going to want an emergency kit with a shovel, a blanket, extra food and water and an emergency candle to keep warm,” she said.

“I carry a tow rope with me as well as anti-skid mats just in case I need to get out [of the snow].”

 

 

 

 

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For the Standstills, they continued on their journey to Vancouver on Sunday. They were thankful for the first responders and emergency crew workers for putting their own safety on the line to rescue those stranded in the snow.

Fox called them heroes.

“It’s the nature of the beast,” he said. “These unexpected storms is what we’re up against. Nature can be very unforgiving.”