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Declaring a state of emergency not necessary during heavy snowfall, Shoemaker says

'We had the equipment we required to tackle it, though it took roughly 24 hours to be able to get through all the snow that had fallen,' mayor tells SooToday
2024-11-29-snowstorm12

A SooToday reader has asked us why the City of Sault Ste. Marie didn’t declare a state of emergency after Saultites woke up to 35 to 40 centimetres of snow that had fallen on the community from Thursday night to Friday morning.

Vehicles were buried in snow-clobbered driveways and driving conditions were treacherous for those able to leave their homes.

Despite the ordeal, Sault Mayor Matthew Shoemaker told SooToday Saturday that a declaration of a state of emergency for the city was not necessary. 

“A declaration of emergency is for when a situation requires resources that the municipality doesn’t have to respond to it in order to protect life or property,” Shoemaker said in an email. 

The city’s own crews worked to clear the Sault’s roads and sidewalks from the massive snowfall without outside help. 

“In the case of the major winter event we experienced over the last several days, we had the equipment we required to tackle it, though it took roughly 24 hours to be able to get through all the snow that had fallen,” Shoemaker said.

Events were cancelled, city offices, schools and places of employment were shut down while health-care facilities such as Group Health Centre were closed and some Sault Area Hospital operations were affected by the severe weather.

“To have declared an emergency and called in resources from elsewhere would have taken just as much time as clearing the snow ourselves. Had we got multiple days of more than 50 cm of snowfall as was being called for, the situation would have had to be reconsidered,” Shoemaker said.

An Environment Canada meteorologist projected 60 cm of snow will fall on the Sault Saturday.

The City of Sault Ste. Marie issued a weather advisory earlier Saturday urging motorists to drive safely and that city crews will work to clear the community’s roadways. 

A list of weather-related closures for Saturday was published earlier and will be updated.



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Darren Taylor

About the Author: Darren Taylor

Darren Taylor is a news reporter and photographer in Sault Ste Marie.
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