Snow, freezing rain cause crashes, slide-ins

As welcome as snow is – especially for skiers and irrigators –  it’s arrival has created havoc for drivers and local law enforcement and first responders. 

Calls to Lake County Dispatch were especially numerous last Wednesday and Thursday when lots of heavy snow fell and again on Sunday, when the rains came. Freezing rain is not something Lake County usually gets a lot of, and emergency travel warnings were issued. 

Schools across Lake County delayed start times by two hours Monday morning, Polson canceled bus service for the day, and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes advised employees not to come in until 11 a.m. The Polson Senior Center closed its doors completely Monday citing dangerous road conditions that made it too  hazardous for volunteer drivers to safely deliver meals.

Lake County Emergency Management head Mark Clary said Dispatch statistics showed four motor vehicle accidents on Jan. 19, one on Jan. 20, four on Jan. 21, and one Jan. 22. 

There were even more slide-ins: six on Jan 19, two on Jan 20, 13 on Jan. 21, and two by noon Jan. 22. 

A rollover by the Jolly Pack Rat, south of Polson, Monday morning caused a fuel spill. 

Clary said Lake County uses Hyper-Reach to issue emergency alerts. “For the most part, I think people take heed of the emergency warnings,” he noted.

Clary also uses Hyper-Reach to contact folks during fire season since he can select the exact geographical area he needs.  

To receive emergency weather and community alerts on your phone or email, head to the Lake County website, www.lakemt.gov/249/Emergency-Alerts. 

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office posted a message on Facebook Monday morning, reminding drivers to not call 9-1-1 or the dispatch non-emergency number to ask for road reports. “Dispatchers are not permitted to give out road conditions,” read the release. “Please dial 5-1-1 or use the 511 app which can be found on your device's app store.”

Mission Valley Power battles heavy snow, rain

Craig Morigeau, Mission Valley Power Superintendent of Operations and Construction, said MVP has had outages attributed to weather during the past two weeks. Areas with trees in close proximity to power lines are typically most vulnerable. 

“Heavy snow weighs down the limbs and pushes them into power lines,” Morigeau said. Sometimes the snow breaks limbs causing them to fall across the lines.

Also snow and ice buildup coming off trees or roofs can cause branches to move and hit power lines.

For example, Sunday night a tree fell on a power line along the West Shore, catching on fire and causing an outage.

The extremely cold weather that arrived the previous week, with temperatures ranging from -15 to -30 degrees below zero, pushed some of MVP’s circuits to capacity which also led to power outages, Morigeau said. 

“MVP gets there as soon as we can, though,” he added. “We’re committed to that.”

Ronan Fire Chief Chris Adler reports his crew was "very busy during the cold." Although most of the calls were false alarms, a shop on North Foothills Dr., filled with tools and vehicles, "and was pretty much engulfed by the time we were paged." 

They also responded to a call on 4th Ave. in Ronan on Saturday Jan. 13. "The occupants of a residence were trying to thaw pipes under the house, and pointed a space heater at a crawl space opening, and eventually it ignited the wall," he said. "Thankfully damage on this call was minimal." 

Adler encourages residents to leave the faucets trickling when temperatures plunge. "A little extra on the water bill is nothing compared to catching the house on fire," he said. 

He added that wrapping vulnerable water pipes with heat tape is a wise investment "and a better bet than a propane torch to thaw pipes in the crawl space."

While temperatures have moderated considerable, Lake County isn’t out of the wintry woods yet though. The National Weather Service warns that a series of weak weather systems are expected to impact the Northern Rockies through early Thursday bringing brief periods of light mixed precipitation, including freezing rain. 

The moisture could slicken roads, especially during the night or early mornings. 

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