'I actually like it here': Sask. folks unfazed by latest cold snap
Extreme cold weather has once again spread throughout Saskatchewan.
The polar temperatures might prompt someone to wonder why people continue to live in a place where exposed skin freezes quickly and sidewalks become so treacherously icy.
"The people are very warm here, so that's a part of it, right? And I do prefer sun as well, so that's why I'm still continuing to live here," said Faisal Zafar, who moved to Regina from Pakistan three years ago.
"It's like +40 coming to –40, but I actually like it here."
"You can't sit inside for nine months of the year, so you have to be prepared to live in it," Leanne Ritchie said. She grew up in Regina and said people that live here develop a resilience to the fluctuating temperatures.
"Every year, winter, it's coming, so we're just used to it."
She added that she goes on runs in all types of weather and advises people to dress properly so they, too, can embrace the cold.
David and Ewa Bieber are from Rochester, Minnesota and were in Regina without a car, so they had no choice but to head outside.
"We look for warm places to hang out," Ewa said. When asked what he thought of people who tough out Saskatchewan winters, David laughed and said "they're a little crazy. It's cold out."
Roadside assistance remains busy
It's challenging to work in these extreme weather conditions, but CAA Saskatchewn president Fred Titanich said the tow truck drivers look on the bright side.
"A lot of them respond to the fact that they're helping people, and it becomes a very positive experience in that way."
However, the cold brings on extra challenges. He pointed out that in freezing temperatures vehicles are more difficult to tow, parts are brittle and tend to break and they, too, have to focus on staying warm and avoiding frostbite.
The need for the service more than doubles on days like this, he said. Service calls that involve a dangerous situation will be prioritized.
"Like you're stranded somewhere or you're more susceptible to the weather, or if your child is locked in the car," he said. "Obviously those ones go right to the top."
CAA Saskatchewan responded to 750 calls provincewide on Thursday and up until 12:00 p.m. CST Friday. Nearly half of those calls were battery boosts and assists, with 29 per cent of calls required for a tow.
The organization has responded to 21,000 service calls since Nov. 1, 2017.
