Police in British Columbia are warning drivers to be prepared for intermittent road closures as heavy snow and icy conditions wreaked havoc on travel across much of the province Monday.
A statement from the B.C. Highway Patrol says “treacherous conditions” along the Trans-Canada Highway through the Fraser Valley are leading to temporary traffic shutdowns in both directions as crews work to clear the ice and snow.
The agency warned dangerous conditions could occur anywhere along the highway between Hope and Whistler and urged drivers to avoid the main thoroughfare unless absolutely necessary.
Environment Canada has issued extreme-cold and arctic-outflow warnings for much of the province, including the south coast. The weather office says wind-chill temperatures could fall to -45 C in the north and -25 C in some coastal regions.
Snowfall warnings are also in effect, with up to 20 centimetres expected to accumulate on parts of Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast.
Mounties in Nanaimo reported “multiple fender benders and vehicles in ditches” on Monday morning.
“Often these are the result of motorists travelling too fast for road conditions and not maintaining sufficient space between the vehicle ahead of them,” Const. Gary O’Brien said in a news release.
“Slow down, leave yourself time to get to your destination and if you are not comfortable driving in the snow, consider taking an alternative means of transportation.”
Several school districts have closed public schools due to snow and poor road conditions, including Port Alberni, Langley, Abbotsford, Mission and Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows.
The University of B.C.‘s main campus was also closed to in-person learning, as were the B.C. Institute of Technology, the University of the Fraser Valley campuses, Kwantlen Polytechnic’s Langley and Cloverdale campuses, and Capilano University’s North Vancouver campus.
