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Prince George tow truck drivers bracing for high call volumes during snowy cold snap

Securing a tow truck might be a challenge if you get stuck during the anticipated snowfall and deep freeze for Prince George.

The northern capital is expected to see as much as 15 centimetres of snow by tomorrow (Friday) and temperatures are only expected to reach the minus twenties for about a week.

James Barron is the Owner of Black Sheep Towing who outlines how much longer the public may have to wait to get a tow truck.

“Our goal is about 17 to 25 minutes by the time we get the call when the snow hits or we end up with these extreme cold snaps it almost gets to a point where we can’t even guarantee a call. You are looking at waits of three to five hours sometimes.”

Barron states the issue is compounded even more due to a limited number of drivers.

“Often at this time, there is a huge, huge demand as some people forget to plug their car in, don’t have good batteries and some people don’t let their car warm up enough. People have to get to work and my phone rings, and rings and rings but there are really only so many of us around.”

He adds the call volumes can reach into the triple-digits.

“We can expect anywhere from the 30 calls, which would be one every minute up to about a 100.”

Barron states their trucks are also impacted by the winter conditions because they get stuck as well, which impacts their response time.

“Even with four-wheel drive it doesn’t make any difference. Each year we try and put brand new rubber on our trucks but deep snow is deep snow and sometimes we get stuck.”

Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].

Brendan Pawliw
Brendan Pawliw
Since moving to Prince George in 2015, Brendan has covered local sports including the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, Prince George Spruce Kings, UNBC Timberwolves, Cariboo Cougars AAA, and Northern Capitals U18 female hockey teams. Career highlights include play-by-play during the Spruce Kings' BCHL championship runs in 2018 and 2019, including the Doyle Cup win. He also covered the 2019 National Junior A Championship, the 2017 Telus Cup, the 2022 World Women’s Curling Championship, and the 2022 BC Summer Games. Brendan is the news voice on 94.3 The Goat and Country 97 FM, reporting on crime, real estate, labour, and environmental issues. Outside of work, he officiates box lacrosse and fastball, sits on the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame board, and co-hosts the Hockey North podcast.

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