The last day of November has been a nightmare for dozens of motorists who have been stranded on Highway 11 north of Orillia — some since early this morning.
OPP officers, alongside Bracebridge and Muskoka firefighters have been busy "extracting" individuals from vehicles stuck on the highway, transporting them to the Gravenhurst Town Hall, which is being operated via generators as a lengthy local power outage continues.
The OPP say towing companies have been on the scene since about 12:30 p.m. but have been "unable to clear the (transport) trucks blocking" the provincial north-south highway. Earlier reports suggested hundreds of transport trucks are idling on the highway, waiting to get back on track.
So, so, many trucks waiting for the northbound lanes of Hwy 11 at Washago to reopen. #ONStorm pic.twitter.com/RK6934NDdV
— Mark Robinson (@StormhunterTWN) November 30, 2024
"Emergency services are diligently assisting individuals stuck on Highway 11 and working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible," noted a post from the Central Region OPP on X.
Police say the "majority of passenger vehicles that were stuck" have been cleared. As of 8:30 p.m., there were less than 20 vehicles still stuck that need to be cleared.
"However, the roads are expected to remain closed during the evening as emergency services continue their efforts," noted the post on X.
Police say abandoned vehicles will be towed to the Canadian Tire parking lot in Gravenhurst.
Both the south and north lanes of Highway 11 are closed between Highway 169 near Washago and Highway 118 and are expected to be closed throughout the night.
Amid the nightmare, there have been acts of kindness. According to a social media post, an "incredible family just north of On the Water Designs ... have been bringing water, snacks and hot chocolate to the stranded vehicles."
Earlier this evening, hot meals were served by neighbours to those stranded in their cars on the highway between the Sparrow Lake D bridge and the Hastings exit.
It may get worse before it gets better as a late-night snow squall is expected to dump even more snow on the area tonight.
