BLOODVEIN, Manitoba, March 20 (UPI) -- Truckers stuck on muddy roads in northern Manitoba have begun driving south after a drop in temperature, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Saturday.
An unexpected warm spell thawed the roads early, stranding trucks and leaving some northern communities short of supplies. Ron Evans, head of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, told the Winnipeg Free Press the national government has agreed to pay to send food and medical supplies to Indian communities, known in Canada as First Nations.
RCMP Sgt. Line Karpish said two convoys of trucks arrived in Bloodvein early Saturday. After quick medical checkups, the truckers formed a single group and set off at less than 5 mph.
While two trucks were still stuck, Karpish said the drivers were in no danger and were waiting for a caterpillar track vehicle to reach them. She said police had accounted for everyone.
Travel is often easier in the far north in the winter when trucks can negotiate ice roads over areas that are bog in summer. Non-perishable supplies for northern communities are trucked in then.
But Evans said warming temperatures have shortened the season, and he urged the Canadian government to begin construction of four-season roads.
