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Snow removal crews, residents catching up after receiving 56 cm of snow in past two days

Terrace has seen over 170 cm of snow since January 29.
Brittany Gervais
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Photo contributed Harald Wulf snow blows the 73 centimetres (28 inches) of snow that built up on his driveway on Pear Street in one day, Tuesday, last week. As cross country skiers, Harold and Andrea Wulf are thankful for the snow, but having moved here two years ago from Burns Lake, joke that it’s vastly different from the anticipated less snow and warmer climate of Terrace.

Terrace residents have seen plenty of snow this winter, especially over the last week.

A jaw-dropping 56 cm fell over the Terrace area between Feb. 7-8, bringing the total amount of snow on the ground to over 100 cm.

It was snowy enough to double the city’s 51 cm monthly average, and there may be more to come by next week.

“We’re getting into a couple days of drier weather, but there is a low-pressure system moving into the north coast by late Tuesday,” Cindy Yu, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said. “With that brings the possibility of more snow.”

The wintry weather caused school closures, highway closures, and poor road conditions in some areas. High avalanche danger forced the closure of Highway 16 between Terrace and Prince Rupert in both directions, as well as the Nisga’a Highway. Hwy 16 was expected to reopen around 2:30 Thursday afternoon.

All Coast Mountains District 82 school sessions were open and buses were running regularly at the time of the storm. However, school sessions were closed the next day after reviewing weather and road conditions.

All Northwest Community College (NWCC) campuses cancelled classes after 5 p.m. Feb. 7, but reopened as of 11 a.m. Feb. 8 when the snow began to dissipate.

Rob Schibli, Director of Public Works, said crews have been working around the clock to keep up with the heavy snowfall.

“We’ve been working overtime for the past nine days,” Schibli said. “We were able to clear most of the snow [Wednesday] night, and plan to work through tomorrow.”

Schibli said that because the storm moved over Terrace during the day, it made clean-up efforts downtown and in residential neighbourhoods difficult.

According to Terrace RCMP, there were three vehicle collisions between Feb. 7 and Feb. 8 with no serious injuries reported.

However, RCMP are warning snowmobilers about the dangers of riding on roadways.

Around 3:15 p.m. on Feb. 8, a marked police Suburban on Kofoed Drive near Clark Street in Thornhill was hit by a snowmobile when the driver attempted to move from behind a snowbank.

“What happened was very dangerous and could have ended much differently,” said Michael Robinson, Terrace RCMP Staff Sergeant. “The roadway is no place for snowmobiles. Those participating in such recreational activities must do so in a safe, lawful, and respectful manner.”

The incident is under investigation.

Terrace residents digging themselves out of the snow took to social media share photos of the storm’s aftermath.

After an extreme weather event, residents downtown should remember to keep their parked cars off the streets.

Currently, Terrace bylaw states that every street, boulevard, alley and highway in the city is designated as a snow removal route between November 15 and April 1.City by-law officers were seen ticketing parked cars on Greig Avenue Wednesday night as the storm continued.