Salt in short supply with more ice, snow on way

With an entrenched cold arctic air mass over southern B.C. and the prospect of a Pacific storm expected to dump 10 to 30 centimetres of snow, Metro Vancouver is bracing for more weather challenges.

In Vancouver, the city is pressing its entire fleet of 46 plow-enabled trucks into service, significantly ramping up from its response Monday when it got caught short with just over half that number of trucks.

This week’s weather has caused the city to burn through more than double the amount of salt and brine it used last year, said Ken Brown, the city’s manager of street operations.

“In the last week we have put down 2,000 tonnes of salt,” he said, where last year for the entire winter they used less than 1,000 tonnes.

While the city may have lots of salt, and is getting more deliveries this week, homeowners could have limited access to ice-melt salt, with most stores reporting a shortage.

Checks of Lowe’s, Canadian Tire, Walmart, Home Depot and other home and department stores show most are out of stock. At Lowe’s, staff say they don’t expect to get more ice melt for three weeks.

The shortage of ice melt comes as southern B.C. is experiencing a persistent outflow of arctic temperatures that have turned snow-covered streets and sidewalks into icy patches. The weight of snow Monday also caused the collapse of the bubble roof covering the Burnaby Tennis Club’s six indoor courts, forcing it to shut down for the next couple of weeks.

Environment Canada issued a special weather statement for Metro, warning of another dump of snow and continuing cold weather. Vancouver could see 10-15 cm, with 15-30 cm at higher elevations.

“Snow will begin over Vancouver Island on Thursday afternoon and over the Lower Mainland early Thursday evening. Strong winds are also expected with this storm,” the statement said.

“On Friday, snow in low-lying coastal communities will probably change to rain. However, for communities at higher-elevation areas or inland, precipitation will remain in the form of snow. A significant influx of milder Pacific air is not expected this weekend and a mix of rain and snow is forecast across the South Coast on Saturday and Sunday. More snow is possible next week, too. With no significant warming trend in sight, any new snow will likely remain on the ground for several days.”

Vancouver, like most Metro municipalities, gives priority snow-clearing to bus routes, bridge decks, arterial roadways, collectors and emergency routes. That means access for the city’s five hospitals and two health centres. Vancouver is also giving special attention to the 15 most-heavily-used bikeways.

Emergency winter-response shelters across Metro were already in place for Monday’s snowstorm, according to both the City of Vancouver and the Greater Vancouver Shelter Strategy (GVSS). The city opened 195 winter shelter beds starting Oct. 14, with the last 55 added Dec. 1. An additional 200 beds have been opened around Metro by the GVSS, manager Rebecca Bell said.

Brown said property owners and occupants, whether homeowners or businesses, are responsible for clearing snow and ice from sidewalks by 10 a.m. every day, “as this is a barrier for the public, seniors and people with disabilities to get around.”

B.C. Hydro is also asking homeowners to be careful with their energy consumption.