Dean Whelan spent Saturday, Jan. 18, like much of the rest of Conception Bay North did.
Armed with a shovel and a snowblower he spent hours removing snow from his Harbour Grace property after a record-breaking winter storm blasted through dumping over 70 cms of snow on the region. In nearby St. John's the snowfall accumulation was 93cms.
For five hours Whelan attacked drifts, some of which were five feet high.
The exercise left him a little sore Monday morning.
“I’m tired of shovelling, I’ll tell you that,” he told SaltWire.
On Saturday, as the storm blew through, Whelan spent his time watching hockey and playing cards. It was akin to what he might’ve done as a child.
He said he was prepared with enough supplies
“We relaxed and rode (the storm) out,” said Whelan. “We didn’t lose power.”
Residents in the Conception Bay North region have been steadily digging themselves out since Saturday morning.
Many of the main roads in the area have been cleared, although there are still some side roads in various communities that crews are attending to.
Early Monday, Bay Roberts announced that all of its roads had been cleared and its workers would be focusing on widening the roads in the coming days. The town encouraged residents to refrain from pushing snow into the roads as it could impede cleanup efforts.
Meanwhile, schools in the area will remain closed for Tuesday. This includes the College of the North Atlantic campus in Carbonear.
There was storm damage around the region.
A Friday night fire caused some troubles for local firefighters.
At the height of the storm Friday night the Bay Roberts Volunteer Fire Department was called to structure fire on Coppin’s Lane off Water Street.
Some firefighters arrived at the fire hall on snowmobile, while town crews had to be redeployed to help some firefighters get from their homes to the firehall.
“Fellas went above and beyond,” said Fire Chief Rick Edmunds. “It was all you could do to stand up and walk to (the fire). You couldn’t catch
your breath with the wind.
“We couldn’t see the building.”
Volunteer crews in Harbour Grace and Carbonear also attended some calls.
High winds in Spaniard’s Bay blew the roof off the fire hall.
Harbour Grace’s cleanup efforts were hampered Saturday when a piece of snow clearing equipment broke down, leaving them short as they
tried to get the snow under control.
Harbour Grace Mayor Don Coombs said the town reached out to a private business to help with their efforts.
Bay Roberts’ resident Dave Butt says he was as prepared as he could have been for the storm.
In the days before the Friday blizzard he had cleared his driveway as best he could.
He didn’t stock up on storm chips but he did get a pack of Hawkins’ Cheezies and some Crush Birch Beer.
His home on the Crossroads in Bay Roberts didn’t lose power, much to the chagrin of his children.
While he felt there was nothing else he could have done prior to the storm, hindsight can often be 20/20 in situations like these.
On top of moving his camper from his front lawn, Butt pondered another thing he might’ve done different.
“I probably would’ve bought another shovel if I could do anything,” he said. “I broke mine on Sunday.”
