State of Emergency in Dufferin County

A provincial police officer was injured in a collision in Dufferin County where a State of Emergency has been declared due to blowing and drifting snow and frigid temperatures. The officer was investigating a collision involving a transport truck Wednesday afternoon when a second transport hit her cruiser from behind, pushing it into the first truck. Roads were closed following several other crashes and visibility was reduced to zero at times. Shelburne is right in the middle of Dufferin County and it’s on the drive to Collingwood which started out clear and smooth sailing. But once you reach Shelburne, it’s a different story.

White out conditions make it almost impossible to see the car in front of you. The drive from Hamilton to Shelburne normally takes about an hour and a half. it took well over 2 hours. And once you hit Shelburne, you’ll start to see closures. Signs where the light is flashing and say road closed due to winter conditions. Police say you can be fined upwards of $110 but it’s not hard to see cars that continually keep going.

Paul Neumann is with the Shelburne police: “There is emergency crews out there trying to get things cleaned up. Recovering vehicles that are standed and you are putting them in danger too when you drive on a closed highway.”

The town of Shelburne is a hub for major roadways that are continually being closed.

Officer Neumann said: “There has been a lot of road closures and I think drivers are getting frustrated with day after day. Or in the morning they are open and then they want to come home and they are closed.”

“It’s tough and trucks getting stuck on the side of the road. It’s tough even getting in town to get some groceries. It’s tricky.”

Office Neumann said: “Stressful, very stressful. You have to use 100 different routes to get around here. It is unbelievable how much snow is here.”

The further north you go the bigger the snow banks get. To give you an idea I am about 5 foot 2 and this one is towering over me.”

More snow is expected to start falling Friday and continue all weekend. So if you have plans to head north to ski country, beware that major roadways will be closed.