RCMP received few calls as highways were bombarded by snow

Emergency services were on high alert during the blizzard that rocked the southeast last week, ready to help out anyone who needed to be attended to during the blizzard.

That included the RCMP, who were responsible for helping out those who were on highways, even as a "travel not recommended" warning went out across much of the area.

Despite the huge amount of snow being dumped across those highways, the blizzard was apparently slow times for the RCMP, at least for the Estevan detachment.

Sergeant Steven Ross says that they received fewer calls during this storm than they had gotten during similar systems earlier in the year.

"People dealt with it a lot better this time, we'll say, just because we simply didn't end up with any calls, and from the driving, around we were doing there weren't people in ditches or anything like that. There were lots of people I think being stuck on the streets in places, but as far as the highways and the rural areas there weren't really any issues."

In contrast, Ross says that they received close to 30 calls when dealing with the blizzard that came through near the end of January.

He says that the highways seem to be mostly clear of drifts that were at one time 3-4 feet high.

"For the most part, I believe in the city there are still some streets that haven't been cleared off yet just because of the amount of snow. But the highways now are pretty good for the most part. There are still some icy patches, just from the snow sticking and becoming ice basically."

That ice will end up sticking around on highways as temperatures continue to see-saw above and below freezing for the next week.

"Through the day it's certainly melting and the ice is receding. There are still some icy patches and then earlier in the morning and later in the afternoon when it starts to cool off," said Ross, "There's been ice forming where the water's running off. So people do need to be cautious about that."

Ross says that everyone prepared very well for the storm, and says it's good people stayed home away from the blizzard.