Volunteers are recalling a frantic weekend effort to help drivers stranded for hours in northern Alberta as whiteout conditions made travel nearly impossible.

Andrew Laidlaw, part of a volunteer group that went out to assist those stuck, said the situation escalated quickly.

“At first, it didn’t look like it was going to be a long-term issue,” he told Global News. “But after a while, we kept seeing more people saying they were stranded.”

Laidlaw said his off-road team mobilized within hours, gathering supplies with the help of the community.