By James Wood

Vehicles locked into ice overnight near Tilley

Oct 3, 2017 | 12:40 PM

TILLEY, ALTA- An early winter storm in eastern Alberta left drivers stranded on the highways on Monday night.

The impacts of the storm were widespread, with a long highway closure near Redcliff and multiple power outages in Medicine Hat. East of the Gas City, drivers near Tilley were left with the decision to head for shelter or stay in their vehicles overnight.

According to Matt Vossepoel, a volunteer firefighter with Tilley’s fire department, around 150 to 200 vehicles were left stranded both east and west of the small town when Highway 1 was shut down. Heavy snow, high winds, and accidents along the stretch between Brooks and Medicine Hat led to the route closing down overnight.

The local fire department was called out around 8:30 p.m. to go deliver food, water, and blankets to the stranded drivers. They were also checking their well-being. Vossepoel said firefighters were out for around 10 and a half hours delivering aid, with many of the drivers choosing to stay in their vehicles.

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The drifts that formed near Tilley played a role in the subsequent blockade of Highway 1’s westbound lanes near Redcliff on Tuesday morning.

“The drifts, I could stand on them,” said Vossepoel.

“I’m 180 pounds, and I could stand on each drift, and not fall through, and that’s only after a couple hours. As soon as that temperature drops, it froze them pretty solid. Some drifts were four and half feet high, where I was.”

Vossepoel indicated the weather had rapidly gotten worse on Monday afternoon.

“When we got out there, it wasn’t bad,” said Vossepoel.

“It was slushy, big heavy snow. By two, three o clock, it was turning to ice, coating everything pretty good. I was coming back from Brooks, that afternoon, and I was only doing 40.”

Vossepoel also said the storm buried some of the smaller vehicles, with drifts forming over their back ends. Cargo truck wheels and brake pods also froze up due to the snow and ice.

“Anything that could go wrong, was,” said Vossepoel.

However, the icy conditions didn’t last. Traffic was moving again by 8:00 a.m. Vossepoel thanked the Brooks Fire Department and Rice Bros Trucking for their assistance during the storm, and had some advice for drivers considering making their way through storms in the future.

“Don’t take it lightly, when the weather network says a storm is coming,” said Vossepoel.

“They can come up quick and take you by surprise.”