N. Sask. residents concerned about supplies as ice roads delayed by warm winter
The balmy winter conditions are coming with a price for Victor Fern, a resident of Fond du Lac, Sask., as a lack of ice roads means essential supplies become restricted.
"The weather doesn't look too good. The water is so open right in front of Fond du Lac in the channel. Usually that's all frozen by now," he said.
"The way it looks like now, it's going to be a really tough year to have any ice roads."
Residents of the isolated community, located 797 kilometres north of Saskatoon, depend on ice roads to get themselves and supplies in and out, Fern said.
"Before the ice closes, a lot of people bring in lumber and all that stuff from the south, because freight is so expensive. So it is a really, really very important part of our lifestyle."
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Fern said the ice should be at least 18 to 19 inches thick to sustain equipment driving on it. Presently, he said it is at six to eight inches of thickness.
"If we don't get that then we won't be able to build the ice road."
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In an email statement, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways said ice roads usually open in the first part of February, but opening has been as early as the last week of January and as late as mid-February, depending on the year.
In northern Saskatchewan, the ministry operates about 230 kilometres of ice roads as follows:
Wollaston Lake (45 kilometres to 55 kilometres, depending on route that year).
Stony Rapids to Fond du Lac (85 kilometres, which includes an over-land portion).
Fond du Lac to Uranium City (about 90 kilometres).
Ice roads run as long as weather allows, typically closing for the season around March 31.
Fern said a lot of small businesses within the community depend on the ice roads.
"We have a lot of vehicles in our community and there's two gas stations, and they need to resupply their fuel storage for the summer," he said.
"If that doesn't happen, then the community is going to run out of fuel."
Victor Fern, a member of the Fond du Lac Denesuline First Nation, says he is concerned for his community as the already high grocery prices might skyrocket with the access to ice roads impacted. (Submitted by Victor Fern)
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Fern said fuel is a necessity to their culture, as many trappers have to travel about 300 kilometres by snowmobile to harvest caribou.
"Hopefully we do get some cold weather."
Anne Robillard, CEO of the Hatchet Lake Development Limited Partnership, shares the same hope.
She said their crew went out for ice measurements on Friday and it "doesn't look promising," as the ice was eight inches thick.
"It's concerning right now," she said.
"[The road] is going to be delayed. Normally this time of year we have –20 and –30 [C] and or more, and the measurements always look better, twice more than what we have now. That means it's going to be delayed for the actual construction [of the road]."
Flying in fuel and supplies a last, expensive resort
Robillard said they need the ice to be 20 to 30 inches thick to haul in supplies.
"Now if it delays, it's going to throw everything off. As to the plan of resupply, we have fuel, propane, housing materials to come in, and then the band had purchased 10 units of trailers that need to come in," she said.
Anne Robillard, CEO of the Hatchet Lake Development Limited Partnership, says the ice is only about eight inches thick so far, and needs to get to at least 20 inches before supplies can be hauled in. (Travis Reddaway/CBC)
Robillard said those cannot be flown in.
The community currently has approximately 331,000 litres of fuel, enough to last to about Feb. 12.
"That means if we don't get the ice road to come in by then, we're gonna be running out of fuel. The daily consumption varies during the year, but is about 2,200 to 3,000 litres per day," Robillard said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the community had to fly in fuel. Robillard said it cost $24,000 for one flight with 10 barrels, each carrying 203 litres.
"The way the weather's going, who knows, we might be going through that again."
In a normal week, the community needs approximately 36,000 pounds of goods. To fly them in means close to $30,000, she said, with the freight accounting to about 43 per cent of cost of the orders.
Robillard said there are presently no ice roads or trails, and advised against going out on the ice.
She said she is looking forward to the Wollaston Road, which is slowly being constructed.
"We don't have a really long window for the ice road season this year, because if we start late in January or February we only have less than six weeks because the ice road season ends March 31," she said.
"Being an isolated community is very tough and we deal with our extraordinary circumstances most times. It's all depending on the conditions of the weather and the ice roads."
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This article, written by Pratyush Dayal, was originally published for CBC News.
Header image submitted by Cathy Hartley to The Weather Network. Location: Fond du Lac, Saskatchewan, taken on March, 14, 2018.
