Snow storm keeps emergency crews busy

While the National Weather Service gave motorists of the Idaho Panhandle a three-day notice regarding last Friday's snow storm, many were still caught off-guard as emergency crews kept busy with calls for service all over the region.

According to Idaho State Police, troopers responded to 206 weather related calls for service across District 1 (which includes the five northern counties of Shoshone, Benewah, Kootenai, Bonner and Boundary).

Locally, Shoshone County Dispatch reported that they received 55 weather related calls for service from Friday to Sunday — most of them coming from Friday. These calls for service could include anything from vehicle crashes and slide-offs to downed power lines and trees.

Despite the best efforts of road crews from both the county and state, law enforcement and fire crews were darting all over the Silver Valley for vehicles stuck in ditches or crashed into barriers. By mid-morning, hazardous conditions on both Lookout and Fourth of July Pass had already caused multiple accidents (mostly involving semi-truck) that in-turn caused major backups and delays. The crashes became so bad that ISP activated chain-up laws for both passes by 1 p.m.

IDT Public Information Office Megan Sausser explained in a previous interview that as far as Interstate 90 goes, the stretch from Fourth of July Pass to Lookout Pass, is managed by three separate groups of snow plows.

The first group comprises three plows based out of an IDT hub situated near the east entrance to Fourth of July Pass. These plows are responsible for clearing and deicing I-90 from Wolf Lodge to Cataldo.

The next group also comprises three plows, but are based in Mullan. These plows have the tough task of clearing and deicing I-90 from Wallace to Lookout Pass. The final group is based in Osburn and only has two plows that cover the entire stretch from Cataldo to Wallace.

When you combine a limited number of plows, unforeseen circumstances (like equipment failures), and extreme weather patterns — snow can pile up and make the interstate tough to navigate. Sausser said that clearing I-90 is IDT’s No. 1 priority in the Silver Valley area when the winter weather comes in, but if conditions do get hazardous, drivers are encouraged to be cautious and wait for the plows to clear the way.

If you find yourself stuck behind a plow, it isn’t illegal to pass them, but Sausser stresses that drivers should only do so if you pass them on the left.

On the county level, Shoshone County Public Works Director Jim Cason explained in a previous interview that when it comes to plowing the roads, his crews have a priority list to follow.

“Priority roads are No. 1, which are the bus routes,” he said. “Then we take care of the main arterial routes of the main roads of Silver Valley (road). After that, we hit the subdivisions of all the outer lying parts of the county.”

County crews will take requests to plow when someone calls in, but will only fulfill them after the priority roads have been done. Split into different districts, county crews cover roughly 400 miles of road from Murray to Avery and Cataldo to Mullan in one way or another.

When it comes to each Silver Valley city, most have their own road crews that have their own planned routes. Each city has its own priority roads that are determined based on similar criteria the county uses.

As for non-vehicle related incidents, Shoshone County Fire District No. 2 firefighter Nick Waites explains that there were plenty of those as well.

SCFD No. 2 and Avista Utilities work crews were tasked with handling multiple downed power lines (mostly in Pinehurst and Pine Creek) — many of which caused fires.

As one could probably guess, handling a fire caused by a sparking power line is a delicate matter.

"Our immediate concerns are the safety of the public on any power line call," Waites said. "Most responses include securing the scene and forwarding information to utility companies. If the line causes a fire, we handle that after the lines have been shut off. If no fire is present most responses are about creating a safe zone until utilities can respond."

Fire crews applied these tactics several times on Friday, especially when responding to a call in the Fern Creek area of Cataldo, where a downed line ignited a small animal enclosure.

"Luckily the flames were limited to the small area and no one was hurt," West Shoshone County Firefighters IAFF L2034 stated. "We want to thank Avista, Kootenai Electric, and the surrounding law enforcement agencies for the assistance."

Thankfully for those who despise the strong winter weather, the current 10-day forecast shows temperatures rising to the mid-50's and no snow on the horizon.