Northern Sask. residents concerned about supplies as ice roads delayed by warm winter

The balmy winter conditions are coming with a price for Victor Fern, a resident of Fond du Lac, Sask., as a lack of ice roads means essential supplies become restricted.

"The weather doesn't look too good. The water is so open right in front of Fond du Lac in the channel. Usually that's all frozen by now," he said.

"The way it looks like now, it's going to be a really tough year to have any ice roads."

Residents of the isolated community, located 797 kilometres north of Saskatoon, depend on ice roads to get themselves and supplies in and out, Fern said.

"Before the ice closes, a lot of people bring in lumber and all that stuff from the south, because freight is so expensive. So it is a really, really very important part of our lifestyle."

Fern said the ice should be at least 18 to 19 inches thick to sustain equipment driving on it. Presently, he said it is at six to eight inches of thickness.

"If we don't get that then we won't be able to build the ice road."

In an email statement, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways said ice roads usually open in the first part of February, but opening has been as early as the last week of January and as late as mid-February, depending on the year.

In northern Saskatchewan, the ministry operates about 230 kilometres of ice roads as follows:

Ice roads run as long as weather allows, typically closing for the season around March 31.

Fern said a lot of small businesses within the community depend on the ice roads.

"We have a lot of vehicles in our community and there's two gas stations, and they need to resupply their fuel storage for the summer," he said.

"If that doesn't happen, then the community is going to run out of fuel."

Fern said fuel is a necessity to their culture, as many trappers have to travel about 300 kilometres by snowmobile to harvest caribou.