Controlled farm burn blamed for south-end collisions

Ottawa Fire Services now says a “controlled burn” at a south-end barn was behind poor visibility that caused minor collisions and road closures Thursday morning.

Initial reports blamed the poor visibility on heavy fog.

But the source was traced to smoke rising from a controlled agricultural burn on nearby Twin Elm Road that then settled over the road, apparently due to air-pressure conditions, OFS said.

The farmer had a permit for the burn, but firefighters were helping to extinguish it to clear the smoke, the fire department said.

A school bus was among the vehicles in an incident in the area, but no injuries were reported, police said.

Paramedic crews responded to a motor vehicle collision on Barnsdale Road west of Moodie Drive, the Ottawa Paramedic Service said

Drivers are asked to be mindful of the snow creating a false shoulder, which leaves an impression that the shoulder extends farther.

at 7:50 a.m. Moodie was closed between Brophy Drive and Barnsdale Road, and Barnsdale was closed between Twin Elm Road and Moodie, police reported. The roads reopened by mid-morning.

Meanwhile, OPP warned drivers to watch for snow that makes road shoulders look wider than they really are after a school bus with 30 children on board slid into a ditch in Petawawa on Wednesday at about 3:30 p.m.

The driver had tried to stop on the shoulder of Petawawa Boulevard, Upper Ottawa Valley OPP said in a news release. No one was hurt. The children were safely removed and taken home. The bus was not damaged and was towed out.

“Drivers are asked to be mindful of the snow creating a false road shoulder, which leaves the impression that the shoulder extends farther than it actually does,” Upper Ottawa Valley OPP said.