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Round II of Snowmaggedon on the way |
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February 7, 2017 |
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By Mike Weland
Editor
In the face of another winter storm poised to
arrived almost on the heels that just left the
region reeling, the National Weather Service has
canceled a snow advisory issued Monday and
issued a winter storm watch for snow, rain and
ice in its stead.
The watch is effective from Wednesday afternoon
through Thursday evening, and work crews and
volunteers are expected to resume work shoveling
the roofs of schools, homes and businesses this
morning in anticipation of as much as eight more
inches of heavy snow.
Volunteers are planning to meet up with South
Boundary fire fighters and staff at Naples
elementary between 8 and 9 a.m. today to clear
the roof, as well as return to Valley View
Elementary at around the same time to finish
shoveling there. Once finished, the crew is
invited to move on to Bonners Ferry High School.
Businesses and homeowners throughout the region
are encouraged to get their roofs clear so as to
avoid structural damage or even collapse under
the weight of existing snow, already heavy,
before the additional precipitation anticipated
exceeds structural snow loads.
"We've had big snows in my 66 years here,"
former Bonners Ferry Mayor Darrell Kerby posted
to Facebook early Monday morning, "but I have
never seen this much snow in one snowfall."
City, county and state road crews worked
non-stop Sunday into Monday, but the snowfall
was so heavy they couldn't keep up. Within an
hour of plowing, it was hard to tell one had
been through at all. Throughout the night,
Sheriff's deputies, city police and state
troopers went to the assistance of motorist
stuck in the snow, or helped clear downed trees
that blocked traffic. Amazingly, there were no
major accidents on roads in the county.
On Monday, in the wake of as much as 36-inches
of new snow in places, which many had to face
without power after trees and power lines gave
way, Boundary County Commissioners declared a
state of emergency for the county, to include
the City of Bonners Ferry, which paves the way
for receiving state and federal assistance if
necessary.
By nightfall Monday, City of Bonners Ferry and
Northern Lights linemen and crews had restored
power to all but one or two Boundary customers,
though Northern Lights crews still had hundreds
more in Bonner and Lincoln County still to go.
County Commissioners also called upon county
fire fighters to take the lead in a "neighbors
helping neighbors" effort to do as much as
possible to preclude major damage, and on
Monday, whether as a result of that call or
perhaps merely the normal reaction of the
remarkable citizens of Boundary County coming
together in time of trouble as they always do,
the community was out in force, doing what needs
done.
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| Boundary
Ambulance Service photo |
| While not
handling lifesaving gear Monday,
Boundary Ambulance Service Captain John
Minden and partner Willa Unruh, the crew
on Medic 2, as with many of their EMS
counterparts, went above and beyond the
call of duty between ambulance runs to
help their neighbors with the work they
weren't able to do themselves. |
In addition to lifesaving gear on Monday, local
ambulances carried snow shovels and roof rakes,
and between runs, Boundary Ambulance personnel
went to work at senior apartments and at the
homes of the elderly, clearing snow and making
sure everyone had what they needed to weather
even more snow.
Firefighters county wide organized volunteer
work parties, made bigger as a result of many
county businesses keeping their doors closed to
cope with the storm, in tackling the snow piled
up on schools, public buildings and more.
People with snow plows, snow blowers or just
tractors with a blade didn't pause once they'd
cleared off their own drives, but moved on to
neighbors' properties to clear berms and lend a
welcome hand.
But time is of the essence.
According to the National Weather Service, a
moist and cold low pressure system is expected
to bring more measurable snow beginning
Wednesday evening, and snow will get heavy over
night into Thursday, bringing from four to eight
inches more snow to the valleys and up to 20
inches over higher elevations.
That will be bad enough, but Thursday's
predicted weather, with temperatures warming to
just above freezing, will undoubtedly make it
worse as snow turns to sleet and freezing rain,
which could lay down a tenth of an inch of ice.
As the precipitation transitions from flakes to
solid to liquid in what the National Weather
Service predicts will be a "messy" change as the
snow level lifts from the valleys to 5,000 feet
by late Thursday, the ice and rain will rapidly
add to the weight of both existing and new snow,
adding significantly to the stress on
structures.
According to Boundary County public information
officer Michael Meier, a square foot of dry,
powdery snow weighs about 14.5 pounds. The
heavy, wet snow expected, topped with even more
weight from ice and rain, can easily surpass the
40-pound roof snowload most buildings in
Boundary County are built to withstand.
As we gear up for round two of what some have
dubbed "Snowmaggedon," Meier reminds all county
residents facing crisis or collapse to call 911
for help. While the load on emergency services
personnel is great, everything possible will be
done to get help to those in need.
For those needing help getting ready for the
approaching storm, but who aren't sure who to
turn to, particularly the elderly, disabled or
ill, NewsBF staff invites you to call (208)
295-1016 or email
mikeweland@gmail.com, and we'll get word out
to your neighbors on your behalf via this
website and/or our Facebook page,
https://www.facebook.com/newsbf.
We also invite those with help to give to let us
know, and encourage everyone with a computer or
cell phone to "like" our Facebook page for the
most immediate news and information available in
Boundary County, and we'd appreciate you sharing
the links with neighbors and friends who might not know
we're here. |
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