Last weekend, squalls blowing in off the Great Lakes pummelled Ontario cottage country with a heaping of snow not seen in decades. Towns such as Sault Ste. Marie, Bracebridge, and Gravenhurst were buried beneath upwards of 140 cm. The storm knocked out power to 60,000 people and closed 100 km of Hwy. 11 between Huntsville and Orillia, leaving drivers stranded in their vehicles.
But no matter how much Mother Nature threw at cottage country, humanity—as it always seems to do—shone through. Countless heroic individuals waded out into the storm to help those in need.
1. Sault Search and Rescue
Around 10:30 a.m. on November 29, the Sault Area Hospital announced that the inclement weather was forcing them to reschedule appointments and surgeries in the coming days. Its priority, the hospital said, was ensuring the safety of its patients and staff. But this didn’t mean the hospital could shut down. There were inpatients already admitted. To ensure these patients received the care they needed, the Sault Search and Rescue volunteer teams provided transportation to Sault Area Hospital staff, ensuring they made it to work safely.
2. Muskoka Paramedic Services
With Hwy. 11 transformed from a driveable road into an impassable field of snow, numerous drivers were left stranded in their vehicles for more than 24 hours. To help, Muskoka Paramedic Services launched its new, $90,000 remote response vehicle, performing wellness checks on stranded drivers, bringing them much needed resources, such as food and water, and transporting individuals back into Gravenhurst.
3. Pizzaville Gravenhurst
With power lines down throughout much of Gravenhurst and slick roads making for a treacherous drive, residents at Lofty Pines seniors’ home were growing worried about food supplies. They had a generator provided by the district, but no hot meals. That’s when Sunny Patel, owner of Pizzaville Gravenhurst, jumped into action. He delivered four steaming hot pizzas to local resident Nancy Beal who walked the pizzas over to the residents. See the post here.
4. Bracebridge clearing efforts
Multiple Bracebridge residents braved the snowy conditions to help clear driveways and dig out vehicles in the days after the storm. Ron Hopkins, the owner of Young Fellers Tree Service, had his crew heading to local homes with a mini skidsteer clearing snow. And local resident Noah Oliver headed over to seniors’ home McVittie Place to clear off vehicles. The job took him four and a half hours with one vehicle buried beneath 160 cm of snow.
5. Marshall’s Excavating
Hearing that there were Gravenhurst residents unable to leave their homes, the crew at Marshall’s Excavating in Lindsay strapped snowplows onto the front of their trucks and made the hour and a half drive to Gravenhurst to help clear driveways. They worked well into the night, digging out residents at 1:30 a.m. while refusing payments. See the post here.
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