Snow removal keeping Saskatoon residents 'busy, busy, busy'

With the second major snowfall of the year happening less than a week after the first, it’s all hands-on deck as residents and businesses tackle heaps of the white stuff.

At the Astro Towing call centre extra staff was brought in to deal with the extra volume.

“Yesterday we did triple the call volume for an average for the Sunday prior. So, we did over 260 calls yesterday. Sundays are traditionally quite quiet,” Astro Towing office manager Rae Purdy told CTV News.

They responded to 200 calls before noon on Monday alone.

“People leaving their driveways and their roadways. They all want to be towed somewhere where the snow is cleared. But lots of the destinations are also snow packed,” she said.

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Residents have been out since Sunday dealing with the onslaught.

“Oh, yeah, I've been kept busy, clearing this, the sidewalk and everything,” Greg Nightingale told CTV News.

Those in the business of snow removal — also working hard.

“We've been making it work. you know. We had a lot of snow last couple days, so we've been busy, busy, busy,” Brennan Sylvester, who has a private snow clearing business said.

"We've been busy, busy, busy,” said Brennan Sylvester, who has a private snow clearing business in Saskatoon. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News)

While it has been a busy Monday, according to Astro Towing, they would’ve been a lot busier if the snowfall would’ve happened on a weekday when people are heading to work, and kids are heading to school.

“It's much quieter than an average snow day because the snow day (declared by the school boards) has really taken down the call volume,” Purdy said.

Environment Canada says that Saskatoon saw about 24 centimetres of snow, while many across the province only saw around 10.

“The North Battleford area saw 24 centimetres; I have Eatonia at 25 to 30 centimetres and Wilkie at 30 centimetres. Those are in the top ranking,” said Danielle Desjardins with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Many of those we spoke to are remembering last winter when most of the province didn’t get snow until January.

“I think I preferred last year. It's a lot longer that we're going to have to deal with it now,” Nightingale said.

Environment Canada says the snow should be done for now, but we’re heading into a cold snap and we’ll have to deal with below normal temperatures as we approach the end of November.