Mayflies 'like a blizzard' cause havoc on Pennsylvania bridge

Authorities closed the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Pennsylvania this weekend after swarms of mayflies made it impossible for drivers to see.

"It almost looked like a blizzard," fire chief Chad Livelsberger tells As it Happens co-host Carol Off. "There were millions. It was crazy."

Livelsberger was responding to a motorcycle crash -- the first of three on the bridge that night.

"We didn't know the scenario that we were getting ourselves into," he said. "Visibility was almost zero."

The swarms of mayflies made it difficult for Livelsberger to help the crash victim.

"We wanted to start bandaging the patient up and every time we would wipe off a mayfly another one would land," he said. 

Livelsberger has lived in the area for more than 20 years. Mayflies are common. This year, however, has been especially bad.

"They were bad last year, but not even close to what we saw Saturday night," he says.

There's speculation that new lighting on the bridge is to blame. The new lights are brighter and lower to the ground.

Livelsberger suspects that the mayflies will be around for a bit. The insects usually hatch in mid-June and live for four to five weeks, he says.

"This is early. This is probably the first hatch of the year."