Commissioner declares snow state of emergency

A Declaration of Emergency came into effect for District 3 of Sanders County Friday due to heavy snows on the west end of the county.

District 3 Commissioner Hank Laws said the snow accumulations have required the declaration so that the county can draw from the emergency budget set up from a two mil levy for this fiscal year.

Laws said that as of Friday the county had six plow trucks and two graters working long days and weekends to clear county roads where the snow was abundant.

Laws said he has about 185 miles of county road in his district but he said the snows were heavy primarily from Trout Creek on west toward the Idaho border. While in Noxon recently, Laws experienced the massive amounts of snow first hand.

"The snow banks were up higher than my pickup," Laws said. "And they figure they have about five feet of snow around Heron."

During the last pay period, Laws said county workers logged 564 overtime hours, which translated into about $16,000. Laws said that by declaring the state of emergency for the county, there is a possibility for the state to issue a declaration of emergency and open the door for Sanders County to receive FEMA dollars.

"I hope they do declare emergency," Laws said. "Because we need some help."

Laws said District 3 has already employed outside help from elsewhere in the county by contracting a CAT to help move snow near Heron. He said two county workers from Plains have also been sent down to the west end of the county, along with a grater to aid in the snow removal efforts.

The last time Laws remembers the county declaring emergency due to heavy snow was during the winter of 1996-1997 and he remembers it for good reason. "That was my first year as commissioner," Laws said. "I started right in the middle of it."

Laws said the board of commissioners began preparation for the declaration of emergency last week because of all the snow in the forecast, and it appears the forecast was correct.

Laws said Monday the county workers were getting caught up in grating the roads and pushing the snow piles back with front-end loaders in Noxon and Heron. His only fear is more snow and nowhere to put it.

"Hopefully we don't get a bunch of snow quickly," Laws said. "The snow is getting so high, I'm afraid we might have to move it out of the area and all our dump trucks are being used for sand right now."

Laws said the state of emergency will last as long as it takes and as long as the money is there.

"It's over when it's over," Laws said.