Fort McMurray tow truck drivers enter busy season as cold snap continues | CBC News
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A recent cold snap means tow truck drivers in Fort McMurray are busy trying to keep up as cars won't start or they break during extreme weather.
Nooraldean Alananzeh, the owner and sole employee of Wood Buffalo Tow & Transport, said the cold snap is when he gets busy.
Before 3 p.m. on Wednesday he had already finished five tows and boosted two cars.
On a regular day, he gets calls to do one or two tows, but in these cold temperatures he gets eight to 10.
Fort McMurray is currently under an extreme cold weather warning, reaching temperatures of -36 C at night.
Cars sometimes break or stop working, and Alananzeh said people are more prone to making mistakes in the winter, like leaving the lights on, locking keys in their car or forgetting to plug the car in.
This time of year is busier in general for towing companies, but Alananzeh said he gets especially busy because he's a small company and he works every day.
He said many larger companies will have employees go on vacation over the holidays, so he gets more business.
As for working in these temperatures, Alananzeh said he's not too bothered.
"We can't stop living, even when it's cold," he said.
Natalie Hasell, warning preparedness meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada, said the weather is so far colder than the historical average in Fort McMurray, but hasn't broken any records.
"It's not as bad as it might have been at some point. Maybe some quick solace there," said Hasell.
She said it appears Fort McMurray will be "well below" normal temperatures into the New Year.
In the meantime, Hasell said people should watch out for each other and look for signs of hypothermia and make sure people are travelling with emergency kits.
Busy season has people waiting overnight for tows
Hany Ali, owner of 4 Seasons Transport & Towing, said the company has seen its busiest days ever in this recent cold snap. On Tuesday, the company had 42 tow calls and on Monday there were more than 50, said Ali.
"We get calls up to one, two o'clock in the morning," said Ali. And at this time, there are so many calls coming in, some of the tows have to be scheduled for the next day.
Ali said he added two tow trucks to his fleet this year for a total of four, and right now they're all busy.
"Trucks will not handle -40 C, -50 C, something's going to go wrong," said Ali.
He said there are situations where he will have to prioritize calls.
He recalled an example three days ago where a woman near Wandering River was stuck on the side of the highway with her child and the car wasn't running.
"We dropped … everything and we send a unit to get her," said Ali.
Hasell, with Environment Canada, said if your car breaks down, don't leave unless you can get to a better shelter within one minute.
"By leaving your car you would be exposing yourself to these very harsh conditions," said Hasell.
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Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/fort-mcmurray-cold-snap-weather-alberta-1.6300284
