The community of Hague rallied to help stranded motorists during the height of a severe blizzard that swept through the region on Monday, January 31.
About 70 people found shelter for the night at Hague Elementary School, while many others stayed at The Zone youth centre. Volunteers provided food, blankets, hot coffee and other necessities for those in need.
Firefighters, police, public works crews and volunteers from the community braved the storm to rescue people trapped in their vehicles on the highway and rural roads in the area.
Several staff members of Prairie Spirit School Division (PSSD) stepped up to ensure stranded travellers had a warm, safe place to stay during the late afternoon of January 31, just as the storm moved into the region in earnest.
Brad Nichol, a PSSD Learning Superintendent, was returning home to Rosthern from Warman about 4:00 p.m.
“It was getting quite nasty, but I thought I’ll give it a try,” said Nichol. A few kilometers down the highway, he was having second thoughts.
“But as I was driving, I got a phone call on my bluetooth from Lisa Hrycuik, a student councillor at the school,” said Nichol. “She was at the Shell station on Highway 11 in Hague. She said the roads are really bad and there are quite a few people, including young families with children, at the restaurant at the gas station.
“It was scary out on the highway, and some people were pretty rattled by their experience.
“Lisa had spoken earlier with Janet Jackson, the Principal at Hague Elementary School. They asked if they could open up the school to provide a place for people to stay.
“I pulled into the Shell station, and we got permission from the school division to open the school as a shelter. We made several trips from the restaurant to the school. As more people stopped at the restaurant we took them up to the school.”
Nichol said Hague Mayor Pat Wagner, who is also the administrative assistant at Hague Elementary School, and other volunteers, organized temporary accommodations for people at the school.
“They posted it on the Hague community facebook page, and people responded by bringing food, blankets, toiletries, hot coffee, all kinds of things down to the school.”
He said everyone worked as a team to do what they could for the travellers.
“A nurse who happened to be among the stranded motorists stepped up to help provide medical attention to people in need,” said Nichol.
The last person to arrive at the school came in at 1:30 a.m.
Nichol said while the school wasn’t fancy, it provided a warm, safe place; and the volunteers worked together.
“At a time when our differences seem to be highlighted, it’s nice to see that people will come together when they need to,” said Nichol.
At the height of the storm, several vehicles in the southbound lane of Highway 11 north of Hague had become stuck, which backed up traffic and created a standstill. Nichol said RCMP and firefighters rescued stranded travellers by convoying vehicles south into town down the northbound lanes, which were closed to traffic.
“At one point a couple of courier drivers were brought in who were absolutely frozen,” said Nichol. “They were so cold. The nurse and other volunteers wrapped them in blankets and warmed them. Their shoes were removed, and fortunately they weren’t suffering from frostbite, but they were close.”
Nichol said it was a serious situation, and praised the efforts of emergency responders and volunteers, including those on snowmobiles, who rescued people stranded on area roads.
“The Mounties in particular worked all through the night,” said Nichol. “They didn’t take a break. They did their absolute best to make sure everyone was safe.”