Tow truck crews are enjoying a lull in activity after a hectic wrap to last week.

Niverville Towing Owner Justin Nadeau says the combination of heavy snow, fluctuating temperatures, and incredible winds made local roadways a minefield for motorists.

“Wednesday and Thursday were busy, but our main hit was Friday evening,” he remarks. “We had all of our resources deployed and we were still just barely keeping up.”

On Friday alone, Nadeau’s team freed over 100 vehicles from the snowy ditches and received service calls from as far away as Winkler. During their peak time, he says they received 45 calls within the span of one hour.

“We were all over the place,” he comments, “In Niverville, St. Pierre, St. Malo, Lorette, Brunkild… and on Highway 1 there were a lot of incidents.”

Two of their calls involved empty semi trucks that had been pushed into the ditch by the forceful wind.


In all of the action, Nadeau says one of his own company vehicles was totaled by a careless driver who failed to notice his crews at work. He reminds motorists to treat tow trucks like they would emergency vehicles and slow down when passing.

By Nadeau’s best guess, the number of incidents over the past few days is unparalleled this winter. However, he says, the unexpected Thanksgiving snowstorm from last October may still have it beat.