MARCH MADNESS
ROUND 2 OF NOR’EASTER SLAMS DELCO WITH 6-PLUS INCHES OF SNOW
It almost seemed like the weather reports were a bit off base, going by the early day precipitation, but by mid-afternoon Wednesday the snow came down in droves — up to 2 inches per hour in some parts — as roads were dicey and people were asked to stay home and power outages spiked throughout the county.
Schools, courthouses and many other establishments were closed for the day – many having made the announcement to close on Tuesday in anticipation of the storm – as emergency services ramped up their operations, emergency declarations were made, like in the city of Chester, and 450 National Guard personnel were placed on stand by in Delaware and Montgomery counties to assist on an asneeded basis.
Having reached a low of 3,600 customers without power in Delaware County from last Friday’s monster storm, county Emergency Services Director Timothy Boyce said downed trees and wires caused the number to surge to 11,000 Wednesday.
“In the scope of things we feel bad,” he said. “We have put the National Guard to work.”
Boyce said state forestry staff would be returning to the area today to help with the clearing of debris to help get the power restored, as about 40 of them had been working throughout Delaware County prior to Wednesday to help recover from the weekend’s storm.
Having been operating at 14-hour days since the weekend, Boyce had requested assistance from the state, and received it.
“We’re in full swing,” he said. “We actually brought in more support teams from the commonwealth. They are here. They’ve come as far as Pittsburgh to help us.”
While he said the numbers of outages from the weekend decreased, personnel remained focused on trying to tend to the most severe of cases, such as people with special needs and fragile populations.
“We haven’t given up on folks,” Boyce said. “These new resources have been helping.”
As first responders and National Guard worked on needs as they arose such as moving cars on Rose Tree Road that had been involved in accidents, Boyce said the focus today would be trying to stabilize the situation from doublewhammy storm systems.
“(Today) we’re hoping to get back to helping people with generators and getting back to normal,” he said.
Delaware County Council Vice Chairman Colleen Morrone agreed.
“Our biggest approach is still trying to get the power on for the people who don’t have power,” she said, adding that county officials were in contact with PECO, who informed them that additional personnel were being sent to the county to get it back on.
She also recommended that as people ventured out to be wary of power lines that had been downed. She suggested avoiding trying to go through them.
“Turn around and go a different way,” she said. “Turn around and take a couple of extra minutes. You don’t know if it’s live or not. Expect that it is live.”
She thanked the county’s Medical Reserve Corps as Boyce commended all of the first responders who, he added, were out helping others then had to return home to clear their own walks.
Also on Wednesday, speeds were reduced to 45 mph on the Blue Route, I-76, I-95 and Route 202 during the storm that stretched hours. National Weather Service officials were estimating that snow totals would range between 5 to 9 inches throughout Delaware County.
Scores of flights at the Philadelphia International Airport were canceled. State highways were closed to most commercial traffic for most of the day and SEPTA bus routes were suspended and trains operated at delayed schedules because of the issues brought forth by the storm.
Crozer-Keystone announced that offices would open later today – at 10 a.m. – because of the storm.
State officials began preparing for the storm the previous day.
“(The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency) will continue to closely coordinate with state agencies to provide support to county emergency management officials for as long as it’s needed,” said PEMA Director Richard D. Flinn Jr.
Officials recognized how taxing the two systems one on top of the other have been on residents, particularly those without power.
“I ask residents to be patient, to be safe and to be helpful to their neighbors,” Gov. Tom Wolf said. “We know this has been a difficult week for many citizens in affected areas and for our first responders, emergency managers, transportation and utility workers, and state and local officials. I want to thank those people who have worked around the clock - many in difficult conditions of extreme cold and wind - to help their neighbors and keep people safe.”
AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Jana Tidwell said they were expecting roadside assistance calls to increase today as many people returned back to the roads after being advised to stay home Wednesday.
“We’re going to see a lot of potholes that are covered (with water) or people will hit,” she said, adding that’s a major cause of flat tires.
In addition, over the last few days especially in Delaware County, Tidwell said, “People were not making the smartest choices in terms of deviating from the road to get around trees and wires.”
She said a number of motorists were driving on people’s lawns and curbs to get around these situations, often causing themselves to get stuck and needing to call for assistance.
One of those responding to the calls in Delaware County was AAA tow truck driver Jhonneidi “John” Espinal.
Having answered four calls by mid-afternoon, he said Wednesday was actually less busy with response calls compared to the rest of the week – but that was good because of the treacherous conditions of the roads.
“Today it’s a little slower because of the roads the way they are,” Espinal said. “The days before, we were busy all week.”
Driving his flatbed truck, he echoed the sentiments heard often throughout the day by state and local officials.
“If you don’t have to come out, don’t come out,” he said. “Every time, I hit the brakes, the tires are spinning. If you don’t need to come out, please don’t.”
He said he was doing the best he could by staying alert, paying attention to traffic and listening to the radio to see where the accidents were and what was going on with the roads.
Espinal has been driving for AAA for nine years and he said he seems to think the number of storms are increasing with each year.
“I think it is ... steadily rising,” he said. “We get more and more calls every year.”
For anyone over the next few days – or any time during the winter season – needing roadside assistance, Espinal offered a few tips after making the call for help.
“If they’re in a remote location ... try to go to a place where they can be warm,” he advised. “(And) keep their phone close to them when we call them.”