Days after historic storm, Sudburians continue to dig out of the snow
Suzy Franklyn was trapped at her Sudbury, Ont., home for two days after a winter storm walloped parts of northeastern Ontario.
“I hunkered down for the first day or two, and then, since it is Wednesday, I slowly started to realize help was not forthcoming,” Franklyn said, standing outside her home, near her car still buried in snow.
Environment Canada reported the city received more than 40 centimetres of snowfall from Sunday, March 15 to Monday, March 16. Freezing rain that followed the snow created a solid crust that made it more difficult to clear.
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Franklyn said she called two contractors, but neither of them were willing to touch her 95-metre driveway.
“I’m told I need a loader,” she said.
Suzy Franklyn says several contractors gave up on clearing her 95-metre driveway. It was finally cleared on Wednesday when she reached backhoe operator David Bertholot. (Jonathan Migneault/CBC)
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Her neighbour put her in contact with David Bertholot, an independent backhoe operator who said he’s been working non-stop since the storm hit the city. He was able to clear Franklyn’s driveway Wednesday evening.
“Everybody is stopping me,” he said. “It’s just an unbelievable amount of snow.”
Bertholot advertised his services on Facebook and by Wednesday, he said he had helped more than 30 people get out of their driveways.
For some elderly clients, he said he cleared the snow free of charge.
“People were crying,” he said. “This lady, she hugged me. She was praying to God. I didn’t charge her.”
Bertholot said the city was “caught with its pants down” from the storm, and should have had a contingency plan in place to bring in more contractors to clear roads and driveways.
“Mother Nature has changed and she's not getting any nicer,” he said.
Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre called it the storm of the century.
He said city crews and contractors have been working non-stop since Sunday to clear roads.
“The snow plows cannot push that thick snow and, therefore, we need graders and loaders and we have a limited capacity of those,” Lefebvre said.
He said the goal was for every street in the city to have received at least one snow-clearing pass by Wednesday night.
“Remember, we have 3,600 kilometres of lanes alone in the City of Greater Sudbury.”
Kaya Zelonko spray painted a message on a snowbank blocking her driveway out of desperation. She says she got help to clear the snow later that night. (Kaya Zelonko/Facebook via CBC)
Creative solutions
Other Sudburians turned to their creativity to dig their way out of the snow.
Kaya Zelonko spray painted the words, “I’m stuck, please help!” on a snowbank that was blocking her driveway in the city’s south end.
“I started panicking,” she said. “I’m an artist. So I always get creative, resourceful when I need to be.”
Zelonko said a neighbour helped her chip away at the snowbank with a shovel on Monday night. She said she was able to flag down a backhoe that was driving down her street, and the operator helped them finish the job.
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By Wednesday, Terry Gavan, who lives in the New Sudbury part of the city, said his driveway hadn’t been cleared. He posted a handwritten sign on his front door that reads: "snow removal help needed please."
Gavan said he just can't lift the heavy snow and ice. He came outside and walked through knee-high snow to talk to CBC News.
“Can't get the car out. Can't do anything really,” he said. “The mail doesn't even get delivered because of this.”
He said he called every snow removal company he could think of, but none returned his calls.
Gavan said he had enough food at home to last several days, but would need to get out for groceries sooner than later.
This article, written by Jonathan Migneault, was originally published for CBC News. Contains files from Kim Garritty and Jessica Pope.
This article, written by Jonathan Migneault, was originally published for CBC News.
Thumbnail image credit to Jonathan Migneault/CBC News.