Northern Lights excitement leads to “utter chaos” around BC

Posted on

While the weekend was magical for many who watched the Aurora Borealis light up sky, some expressed annoyance for fellow Northern Lights watchers.

Due to an unusually strong geomagnetic storm causing the rare phenomenon, British Columbians were in awe of the Northern Lights. They shared pictures from across the province of the pink, purple, and green colours shining through.

However, with so much excitement for this natural wonder, people reported major traffic backups and a list of unsafe behaviours.

Pitt Lake was one of the popular spots for folks to watch the Northern Lights.

One person wrote on X that the area was a “Traffic sh*t show,” adding that the backup was 10km long to the lake and crawling.

Another person in the area shared a video of the traffic on X and said, “We quite literally have chaser convergence out at Pitt Lake.”

One concerned person took to Facebook to stress how dangerous the Pitt Lake area was Friday night.

She said that while others reported that broken-down cars led to traffic delays, “there were also a number of other unsafe conditions.”

Facebook

She listed issues with cars parked on the shoulder of the road, “reducing the road lanes.”

Drivers darted in front of moving vehicles, cars were seen speeding, and people stood in the middle of the road, she said.

She added that people even set up blankets on the ground on the shoulder of the road for their families with young children between cars, And cars were left in the road, “strewn about, unoccupied.”

“It looked like a scene from an apocalypse movie with cars sideways and crossways and half on-half off the road. There was little space even in between the cars to walk,” she wrote.

While it was a great place to view the auroras, she went on to say many people showed a “lack of etiquette.”

Many commented on the Facebook user’s post to say they were “shocked” by the crowds and described the evening as “insane,” “a bummer,” “crazy,” and “utter chaos.”

Facebook

Facebook

One person commented to say she was caught up in “the apocalypse part,” as cars in front of her stopped and turned their cars off.

“I had a moment of panic looking behind us to see hundreds of cars lined up – we were trapped,” she said. “No choice but to turn the car and lights off and try to enjoy what we could while we could.”

She added the busy scene led to some angry drivers.

“There were so many angry people coming from far ahead of us to tell everyone to turn around and leave so everyone could get out,” she said. “Saw a lady in a massive truck parked diagonally across a lane, fast asleep while everyone around her was attempting to clear out.”

Facebook

One woman added that while she was thrilled to see the Northern Lights, “I’ve never seen it so crazy insane as it was on Friday … the human side of everything was nuts.”

Facebook

According to an X user, Ridge Meadows RCMP responded to the scene on Saturday evening.

However, it was not just Pitt Lake that people said “crazy” crowds gathered at.

People on social media said folks who gathered in Porteau Cove to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights acted similarly.

Some X users said chaos was found along the Sea to Sky highway near Porteau Cove too.

Barbora Kyselicova told Daily Hive she and her daughter arrived in Porteau Cove around 7 pm Saturday. However, “After 9 pm people started parking near highway and started walking to Porteu Cove. It’s been pretty crazy out there and after 12:30 am people waited around 40 minutes to get [out] from parking lot.”

“Other than that, the night was amazing,” she said.

bnkphotolife/Instagram

A Facebook user suggested that all popular areas to spot the Northern Lights tend to be busy, so they prefer to miss the natural event altogether.

“Would prefer not watching it from the lower mainland rather than getting stuck in this stupidity!”

Daily Hive reached out to the BC RCMP for comment.

Source

Related Posts