Federal government approves N.L.'s request for assistance, including army mobilization, following blizzard

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• Federal government approves province’s request for assistance.
• State of emergency orders remain in effect in St. John’s, other municipalities.
• The state of emergency in St. John’s will remain in place through Sunday and may extend to Monday morning.
• Power remains out for thousands of customers.

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The federal government approved Newfoundland and Labrador’s request for assistance in dealing with the aftermath of a record-smashing blizzard, Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan said Saturday.

“Whatever assistance we have available and we can mobilize on the ground will happen,” said O’Regan, who is also the MP for St. John’s South-Mount Pearl.

Speaking from a federal cabinet retreat in Winnipeg, O’Regan said additional details regarding the mobilization of the Canadian Armed Forces will come once the two federal ministers tasked with the assistance — Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair and National Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan — arrive in Winnipeg.

The primary task of the army, as well as reservists already in the province, will be clearing snow, he said. “We’ll be able to relieve operators who have been out there for a long time,” O’Regan said. “Workers in the hospital, some going on 36, 38 hours and need to be relieved. We need to get professionals back into the hospital.”

O’Regan added that a ban on dumping snow into the harbour in St. John’s was lifted yesterday in order to address the massive pileup of snow. He said the federal government would discuss with St. John’s Mayor Danny Breen when to reimpose the ban, which was meant to address chemicals and salt polluting the harbour.

The blizzard warning covering much of eastern Newfoundland was lifted earlier in the day, as hundreds of thousands of people began to reckon with a storm that continues to keep daily life on pause.

Premier Dwight Ball, who referred to the storm as “one for the history books,” told CBC’s Cross Country Checkup that he has been in contact with Blair about what level of support the federal government could provide for the province.

Ball reiterated that Newfoundland’s main priority is clearing major routes for health-care workers and power technicians to get through. “People are getting tired, so we need those routes open,” Ball, speaking from Deer Lake, told Cross Country Checkup host Duncan McCue on Saturday.

Officials pleaded with residents to stay inside and off roads, which were so dangerous that even government plows could not cope with monumental drifting. 

The blizzard brought 76.2 centimetres of snow to St. John’s International Airport, although other areas — including in the city itself — reported more. The blizzard warning was lifted Saturday morning.

As of Saturday morning, crews with the Department of Transportation and Works were making one pass through main arteries, including the Outer Ring Road and New Harbour Barrens, where front-end loaders have been recruited in places where plows just don’t cut it.

The 69 centimetres that fell by late Friday beat a record for a one-day snowfall that had stood since April 5, 1999, when 68.4 cm fell.

However, more snow is expected. According to CBC meteorologist Ashley Brauweiler, 10 to 15 cm of snow is expected to fall starting Sunday evening, from central Newfoundland east to the Avalon Peninsula and down to the south coast. Winds are also expected to ramp up again, Brauweiler added, with gusts out of the east and southeast ranging from 60 to 90 kilometres per hour.

Brian Murphy, who runs a snow-clearing business with his brothers in Mount Pearl, told McCue he’s been clearing snow since 3 a.m. “It’s been pretty busy,” Murphy told McCue from his snowplow, adding that cars “left in the way” on the road add to the difficulty of the task.

Murphy said it’ll take “a day or two” to clear the roads. “The best place for you to be is in your house,” he added.

State of emergency extended in St. John’s

A state of emergency remains in effect in St. John’s and in numerous other municipalities. The order means that businesses must close and vehicles must stay off roads.

The state of emergency in St. John’s will remain in place through Sunday and may even extend to Monday morning, Breen said.

Breen said the city hadn’t yet discussed calling in the military, but would be borrowing equipment, including snowblowers, from Corner Brook.

As of Saturday afternoon, some houses remain buried under drifts, with inhabitants unable to leave their homes and begin digging out.

Watch as a member of the Canadian Red Cross discusses blizzard preparation:

People posting photos of their predicament online show tunnels dug through drifts that are blocking entrances, children climbing out of windows, and heaps of snow left to melt in bathtubs.

Some of those trapped indoors also don’t have heat, light or the ability to cook. By 1 p.m. NT, about 17,000 customers across the province were without power, said Michelle Coughlin, a spokesperson with Newfoundland Power.

Staff with Rainbow Riders, a therapeutic horse program in St. John’s, spent two nights inside the facility to wait out the blizzard. “They’re great. They’re pretty comfortable here this morning, having their breakfast, chewing happily and kicking at their stalls,” Sarah Evans told CBC Radio Saturday.

Evans and another staffer stayed overnight Thursday into Friday at the Mount Scio barn, in case they couldn’t get in Friday morning. They were still at Rainbow Riders Saturday morning.

“We’ve just been trying our best to stay to the horses’ normal routine,” Evans said.

Watch as the executive director of Rainbow Riders describes the upcoming cleanup:

Videos and photos posted online show snowmobiles being employed instead of vehicles. However, government officials are reminding people that it’s against the law.

“Please remember that recreational vehicles are not permitted to operate on roadways and, when crossing roadways, they must ensure they have clear line of sight 100 metres in each direction,” said Service NL Minister Sherry Gambin-Walsh on Twitter.

Watch scenes from Friday’s blizzard:

A storm surge warning remains in effect for the northeast coast of Newfoundland, which covers scores of coastal communities.

All flights in and out of St. John’s International Airport were cancelled.

Minister of Municipal Affairs Derrick Bragg said many essential service workers are pulling double shifts. He said essential service workers should contact their managers, who should then make arrangements with the town or city to find transportation.

During the blizzard Friday evening, there was a fire at a house on Ennis Avenue around 8 p.m., according to CBC’s Peter Gullage. The fire department responded and put the fire out, but a neighbour told Gullage that the house caught fire again, leading to another 911 call.

When the fire department returned, a firefighter fell through the floor, according to Gullage. The firefighter was rescued, and there has been no word on any injuries.

John Norman, the mayor of Bonavista, said strong waves managed to reach the third floor of his home around 11 p.m.

“I assumed being one of those residents being close to the water I’d hear something … but to hear it go over your roof and rain down over your roof, it’s quite something,” he said. “It seemed like a hurricane, with snow.”

Norman said residents must stay inside, despite the snow tapering off.

“There is no way for us to rescue someone if they go out.… There is just no way to launch a search party right now.” 

‘Roofs blowing off houses’

Dean Foley, platoon chief for the St. John’s Regional Fire Department, said crews required a snowplow escort to respond to each call it could handle. Snowblowers were also used in some cases. 

“We’re getting roofs blowing off houses, people trapped in their cars — an assortment of everything, I’ll say,” said Foley. 

High winds and proximity to the ocean meant that sea salt was leading to dangerous situations with pole fires. “The salt is gathering on the poles, and sparking up some fires on the poles,” he said. 

Snowplows with the Department of Transportation and Works received more than 100 requests for help as of Friday evening.

Private snowplow operator Shawn Roche has been attempting to clear commercial lots since Friday morning. He said it took 35 minutes to go a single kilometre.

“I wouldn’t even look at venturing out until at least tonight, maybe tomorrow,” Roche said. “I looked at the on-ramp to Peacekeepers Way and a plow when through it. The plow got stuck and I’m stuck in behind him.” 

Roche said the snow is unlike anything he has seen in many years, and suspects it will take a long time to clear up the snow.

“To put a cow path through, it will take all day.”

157 km/h wind gusts

Brauweiler said wind gusts in St. John’s were estimated to have hit 157 km/h at peak. She said estimates were being used because instruments may have stopped recording data.

Before dawn Saturday, wind gusts had subsided, but were still over 100 km/h. Brauweiler said winds will continue to fall during the day. 

Power has been knocked out in pockets from St. John’s to Grand Falls-Windsor, including all of Bell Island, large swaths of the capital city and neighbouring towns.

“Severe weather conditions and impassable roads currently preventing our crews from safely accessing storm-related outage areas,” a Newfoundland Power advisory said Saturday morning

Firefighters asked some people in the historic neighbourhood of the Battery in St. John’s around 8 p.m. Friday to evacuate after an avalanche of snow smashed into a home, sending heavy snow through the building. 

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary was also called to the Battery on Saturday when waves hauled a shed into the ocean. No one was hurt.

Man still missing after storm

Meanwhile, a search is underway to help a family in a rural area in Conception Bay looking for their missing son. Joshua Wall, 26, left his Roaches Line home to walk to a friend’s house at 12:30 p.m. NT on Friday, and has not been heard from since. 

He later told his parents he was going to visit a friend in Marysvale, and decided to leave on foot after he couldn’t get a taxi.

A few hours later, Wayne Wall tried calling his son on his cellphone, but it went straight to voicemail. He later learned that Josh Wall sent his location via his cellphone to his friend in Marysvale, with a note saying he was lost and his phone’s battery was about to run out of power.

His last known location was on a backcountry path through the wilderness, and Wayne Wall said his son is not familiar with the area.

The RCMP are helping with the search. 

Josh Wall was wearing a heavy winter jacket and a warm hat, mittens and boots. But it’s not believed he was wearing snow pants.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador 

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