Western Ontario storm hits close to home

The major winter storm that left motorists stranded days along Highway 402 and sections of Highway 401 between London and Sarnia also wreaked havoc on a local company.

Five transport trucks belonging to Propane Levac, in St-Isidore, were caught in the heavy snowstorm between Sunday night, December 12 and Monday, December 13. According to the OPP, they would have been a handful of the 200 tractor-trailers and 124 cars trapped in deep, blowing snow and high winds.

Reached last week, company president Jean-Marc Levac said three trucks had just been filled and were on their way back to eastern Ontario, and another two were heading east to be refilled, when all five became trapped.

"It's obviously not great, to be worried about having your trucks there, but they made it back safely and on time," he told The Review.

According to Environment Canada, Sarnia collected between 30 and 40 centimetres of snow, combined with sustained winds of more than 40 kilometres per hour with gusts of up to 80 km/h. Snow drifts reduced visibility to near zero, making travel impossible.

The roads were cleared, kilometre by kilometre, and eventually the Propane Levac trucks were cleared to begin the drive home on Wednesday evening.

Some trucks therefore arrived at their destination before others, Levac noted.

Propane Levac operates with 75 full-time employees and delivers propane to over 19,000 customers. The head office is located in St-Isidore and there are distribution centres in Perth and Kingston.