Western Nunavut town digs out of three-day blizzard

A Cambridge Bay resident walks through the blizzard in almost zero visibility. (PHOTO BY KELCEY WRIGHT)

Snow drifts were so high, residents had to swerve to miss stop signs and some had trouble opening their front doors. (PHOTO BY KELCEY WRIGHT)

Special to Nunatsiaq News

CAMBRIDGE BAY — Happy New Year to you, too, Mother Nature!

The blizzard that shut down the western Nunavut town of Cambridge Bay for three days finally came to an end Jan. 9, but even then the evidence of the storm was still apparent, with some drifts reaching 10 feet high along the sides of buildings and on roads.

The storm hit Cambridge Bay and many other Kitikmeot communities Jan. 6, with winds reaching at least 70 kilometres per hour and temperatures dipping to -40 C with wind chills.

The storm closed all government offices, schools and stores and stopped all air traffic to and from Cambridge Bay.

All flights were pushed back and rescheduled until at least Jan. 9.

The numerous flight cancellations meant that about 300 Cambridge Bay residents were stranded in Yellowknife for nearly a week, where they were obliged to pay for shelter and food out of their own pockets.

“It was certainly inconvenient for us to have to make alternative arrangements, but we were definitely better off than a lot of other people,” said Gloria Song, who was on her way back to Cambridge Bay from Ottawa.

“At least we were staying at a hotel in Yellowknife, and able to enjoy the comforts of the city, like restaurants, while we waited.”

Many Cambridge Bay residents who remained at home said the storm put a damper on the beginning of their new year too.

“My kids started getting tired of being inside,” said Clarissa Koblogina, a mother of three young boys. “Every single one of us started getting [cabin fever].”

But there were good things to come out of the beautiful, white days.

“[At least we got to] have some family time,” said Koblogina, who watched movies and played board games with her family during the storm.

And others followed suit: trying to make due by sleeping, eating and doing anything to help pass the time indoors seemed to be popular across town.

“I watched Netflix for three straight days,” said Rebecca Rowan. “Then we took the ski-doo out yesterday and we had to be careful not to hit the stop signs because the drifts were so high.”

Municipal services went back on the road late Jan. 8, much to the relief of many people in town who had been without water delivery and sewage pick-up for several days.

“I would like to applaud the Hamlet Municipal Service and Kitnuna crew for their hard work and dedication,” said Cambridge Bay mayor Jeannie Ehaloak in a Jan. 9 Facebook message on the comunity’s news page. “The municipal staff started water delivery last night until midnight in order to catch up with their schedules.”

That was expected to take at least two days: the hamlet has the capacity to carry out about 225 water deliveries and sewage pick-ups per day.

With more than 500 water intakes and sewage outlets in Cambridge Bay, population 1,500, the message from the Hamlet near midnight Jan. 9 was that it would be “a long two-day job in good conditions to service all of Cambridge Bay.”

“Hang in there everybody!!! We will soon be caught up. Hats off to the residents of Cambridge Bay! The Heart of Canada’s Arctic!”

Most offices, schools and businesses opened back up on the morning of Jan. 9.

“It was nice to finally get outside and get some fresh air,” said Koblogina.

And there were lots of winter activities to do — including shovelling — after the winds started to die down.

The first full-week of work and school since December was set begin on Jan.12.

However, Environment Canada was forecasting another blizzard for late Jan. 11 and early Jan. 12, with winds gusting to 60 km/h and a wind chill of – 48C.