Freezing rains close schools, create hazardous conditions

MINERAL/SANDERS COUNTY – Schools around the area were closed or delayed Friday after freezing rains left the roads too hazardous for buses to safely manage.

The schools in Superior as well as St. Regis were closed for the day after it was determined the back roads and Interstate 90 were too dangerous for the busses to drive on. Trout Creek School was also closed down for the day.

The Thompson Falls schools were open and started on time, but the busses were not running their routes. The students who lived in town came in once conditions were safe and other students drove or were brought in by parents.

“We had kids trickling in; everything’s going well,” said Thompson Fall High School secretary Stacy Milner.

According to their website, all late arrivals were forgiven and students who missed classes did not have the absence counted against their grades.

The schools in Plains and Noxon had no closures or delays. Plains started the day on time and all the buses ran on schedule. Noxon had a couple busses that could not go onto some of the back roads on their route, but arrangements were made with the student’s parents to get the students to the school.

The schools in Alberton and Hot Springs are on four-day schedules this year and were not open for the day.

A number of roads in the area were also temporarily closed down for safety concerns. Part of I-90 was closed Friday morning, but reopened later in the day; as of late morning, road conditions in the county were wet with slushy areas from St. Regis to the Idaho border.

Parts of Highway 200 were also temporarily closed; during the morning, the roads were icy with sections of black ice. By late morning, this had also warmed to wet or slushy conditions. Highway 28, between Plains and Hot Springs, has also had alerts placed that there are slippery conditions in spots near the Plains junction.

Commuters should take care while driving on wet or slushy roads as they can still be slick or have hidden patches of ice. Caution should also be observed on bridges where there is a greater chance of ice forming.

The only ongoing closure was the Thompson Pass, which is closed for the season.