Organizers have canceled this year’s Can-Am Crown sled dog race in Fort Kent less than a week before it was set to start, citing the limited snow on the ground and rain that’s expected this week.
“This difficult decision comes after careful consideration of the current weather patterns that have left our trails without sufficient snow coverage,” the organizers said on Facebook on Sunday night. “The forecast has taken a turn for the worst and we are now expecting heavy rain and a period of unseasonably warm weather causing trail conditions to deteriorate rapidly.”
The 250-mile race had been scheduled for March 1-5.
Organizers had said as recently as mid-February that they were still planning to go ahead with it, even as warmer weather had canceled other sled dog races around the country. Now, they say that there has just been too much warm weather and too little snow to go ahead.
“The health and safety of our mushers and their incredible dogs is our priority,” the organizers said on Facebook. “The warmth and lack of snow have led us to conclude that moving forward with this year’s race could compromise the well-being of all involved.”
