Video: Highway 402 Declared Natural Disaster Area

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WJBK) - A local driver was among those stuck in the snow on a stretch of highway which links the U.S. to Canada. More than 40 miles of the 402 in Canada has been shut down and declared a natural disaster.

FOX 2's Bill Gallagher knows that stretch of highway very well. Tuesday, he said it is wide open and when the wind blows off Lake Huron it can be treacherous.

Ontario Highway 402 is the most important road between Sarnia and London, Ontario. It is a vital commercial arterial for trucks crossing the Blue Water Bridge transporting industrial and agricultural products between the U.S. and Canada.

Blowing and drifting snow near Strathroy, Ontario forced the closing of the 402 stranding at one time more than 300 people, including Jim Vickrey of Rochester Hills. Monday, he was heading toward London.   The Associated Press reported Tuesday that emergency officials believe everyone stranded has been rescued.

"We're still sitting on the 402. We were able to move up about 15 kilometers, so we're at least close to a rest stop," he told FOX 2 News. "We walked up there for a Subway sandwich, but we're still sitting."

The Blue Water Bridge was also closed to truck traffic heading east.

The hardest hit area is rural and open and prone to lake effect snow blasts from Lake Huron. The fierce wind prevented motorists from even trying to walk to shelter.

Truckers provided a haven for drivers stuck in the snow. A woman trucker got Vickrey out of the cold.

"I think most of the motorists have gone to the truckers and bunked in with them if they could," Vickrey said.

Initially, the stranded saw no help from law enforcement.

"A little disappointing because I don't think that everybody was handled as fast as possible. Now granted, the conditions were horrendous. I mean, last night the wind was blowing 40 to 50 miles an hour. You couldn't see 50 to a hundred feet," said Vickrey.

Winter storms in the area come quickly and often without warning.

"When those streamers come across between Huron and Erie or vice-versa, they can be real treacherous. You can be driving along and all of a sudden you can't see anything," Vickrey said.

Canadian military forces have been called into help and are using helicopters to rescue some of the stranded.

Play the second video in the player to view amazing aerials from SkyFox over the highway.

Play the third video in the player to hear Jim Vickrey describe the scene on the ground.