A snowstorm that came through the Robson Valley Sunday night (Nov. 29)  left trucks lined up all over the road on Highway 5 south of Valemount, causing power outages in homes and businesses, led to stores shutting down and gas stations without power.

With bare ground earlier in the day, a heavy snowfall left about seven inches of snow on the roads, and over a foot and a half in areas in town. The snow toppled two trees that fell on top of power lines, cutting power to most of the town, and leaving other places with flickering lights for hours.

“We had trucks all over the place – we had a whole lineup that was about three miles long, just south of Valemount on Highway 5. There were trucks spun out, jack-knifed on the hill, and everybody had to chain up to get up that hill. And that was most of my night,” said Valemount RCMP Corp. Ed Burstrom, who was on duty Sunday night. “They were all over the highway.”

Neither Highway 5 or Highway 16 had to be closed. Burstrom said they had a lucky night, although just because Highway 16 was open doesn’t mean there weren’t cars in the ditch, as many people who end up in the ditch don’t call the RCMP unless there is an accident or injury.

The storm also closed portions of the Icefield Parkway between Saskatchewan Crossing and the Trans Canada Highway.