‘It’s the most snow I’ve ever plowed in one storm’

HALIFAX – More than 200 snow plows took to the streets of Halifax Friday to fight back against the province’s first blizzard.

Work to clear the streets started Thursday night, said Darrin Natolino, superintendent for HRM Winter Works.

“By nightfall last night, we were fully operational and we’ve been plowing ever since,” he said.

Natolino said crews will work around the clock until the snow is cleared up.

Many businesses closed down for the day, something he said was a blessing.

“Having less traffic on the roads, less pedestrians, gives us more of a chance to do our jobs and clean the roads up.”

The responsibility of clearing the streets falls on the shoulders of plow operators like Helen MacLean.

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MacLean is in her fifth year of plowing city streets. She started her shift at 8 a.m. and will plow for 12 hours.

The driver, one of the handful of women who work in snow plowing, said Friday’s blizzard is one of the worst she’s ever seen.

“It’s the most snow I’ve ever plowed in one storm.”

MacLean drives a five ton operator and is in charge of plowing the downtown core.

She said one of the biggest challenges she faces is the many hills in the area.

“Getting stuck on a hill or tying up traffic would be the scariest,” she said.

But she adds that her job gives her a heightened sense of awareness.

“When I’m on a hill, when pedestrians are on the street, when buses are stuck, that’s when I start to tingle all over because I have to remember where is my blade, is there salt,” she said.

Both MacLean and Natolino said that it’s critical residents follow the winter parking ban.

“When cars and trucks are left on the road, it’s virtually impossible oftentimes for a plow to get through there. Often there’s that misconception out there we haven’t plowed the street when in fact, we weren’t able to, we couldn’t get the equipment down that road,” Natolino said.

The Winter Works superintendent said he hopes residents, many of whom stay bundled up inside Friday, recognize the work the plow operators do.

“The work we do is often thankless work but the bottom line is we’re out there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” he said.

“These operators make a huge sacrifice. Give them a friendly wave when they’re driving by. Give them a thumbs up. They’re doing a good job.”