Kosciusko County Spared Worst Part Of Arctic Blast
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Kosciusko County residents should consider themselves fortunate to have missed the brunt of the late winter storm that struck much of the Midwest.
Road crews are working overtime to clear streets and highways. There have been no serious injuries reported due to vehicle acciddents, although many vehicles slid off roadways. Power outages are few in the county while crews are hard at work farther west in Indiana.
The Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, Warsaw Police Department and Syracuse Police Department have reported numerous accidents, but no one has been seriously injured. Property damage, including utility poles and fences, has been minimal.
"Our county got off extremely lucky," Gary Hurd, director of operations for REMC, said. REMC had two meter points out last night due to NIPSCO problems.
About 1,000 customers in the Pierceton and North Webster areas lost power Monday night, Hurd said. REMC reported half their outages were due to problems NIPSCO was having.
REMC said they had no utility poles come down and are working on getting power back to customers who reported scattered outages.
"We were lucky, I guess," Hurd said. He said the hardest hit area in Kosciusko County was the northwest section.
A NIPSCO press release said "severe weather damage extends throughout NIPSCO's 30-county service territory." Approximately 76,000 customers are still out of power, with Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties hit the hardest.
NIPSCO estimated that "if current conditions continue and the situation does not worsen, complete restoration could be as late as Wednesday for individual customers."
The press release warned people to stay away from downed power lines and to seek emergency shelter if their heat is out.
The roads in northwestern Kosciusko County are those causing the most problems for county snowplows as well.
County Highway Superintendent Robert Ladson said crews started on the roads before 5 this morning.
The county started Monday morning trying to clear standing water away from the roads from the rain that ushered in the storm. As the snow began to fall, the county used a sand and salt mixture to coat roads before they began to plow.
Some members of theWarsaw road crews have been working non-stop since Monday morning. They started to salt city roads when the snow began and have made six trips around the town so far.
Kim Leake, public works superintendent for Warsaw, said his crews have plowed the 78 miles of city streets three times as of Tuesday morning and plan to continue until the snow stops.
"We're trying to keep on top of it," Leake said. "We never stop until the snow stops."
Ladson said his crews have reported up to 4-foot-high drifts in the northwestern parts of the county.
Leake said there have been some drifts in out-lying streets in Warsaw. Since most of the high winds have come from the north, the east-west streets have drifted the most.
Both men said their salt and sand supplies are holding up well since the winter has been relatively mild until now. But snowplows and trucks that run off the road have become stuck in to the unfrozen ground along the roads. Warsaw and the county reported three of their vehicles getting tires stuck when they went off the roadway. The tires then sank, requiring another truck to pull them out.
Ladson said he has used a computerized satellite system to track the progress of the storm. Leake has also used a satellite system to follow the storm but said the snow at 2 a.m. this morning was a surprise caused by the lake effect.
"We're making headway," Ladson said. He said crews plan to do "more of the same" tomorrow until county roads are clear. [[In-content Ad]]
Kosciusko County residents should consider themselves fortunate to have missed the brunt of the late winter storm that struck much of the Midwest.
Road crews are working overtime to clear streets and highways. There have been no serious injuries reported due to vehicle acciddents, although many vehicles slid off roadways. Power outages are few in the county while crews are hard at work farther west in Indiana.
The Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, Warsaw Police Department and Syracuse Police Department have reported numerous accidents, but no one has been seriously injured. Property damage, including utility poles and fences, has been minimal.
"Our county got off extremely lucky," Gary Hurd, director of operations for REMC, said. REMC had two meter points out last night due to NIPSCO problems.
About 1,000 customers in the Pierceton and North Webster areas lost power Monday night, Hurd said. REMC reported half their outages were due to problems NIPSCO was having.
REMC said they had no utility poles come down and are working on getting power back to customers who reported scattered outages.
"We were lucky, I guess," Hurd said. He said the hardest hit area in Kosciusko County was the northwest section.
A NIPSCO press release said "severe weather damage extends throughout NIPSCO's 30-county service territory." Approximately 76,000 customers are still out of power, with Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties hit the hardest.
NIPSCO estimated that "if current conditions continue and the situation does not worsen, complete restoration could be as late as Wednesday for individual customers."
The press release warned people to stay away from downed power lines and to seek emergency shelter if their heat is out.
The roads in northwestern Kosciusko County are those causing the most problems for county snowplows as well.
County Highway Superintendent Robert Ladson said crews started on the roads before 5 this morning.
The county started Monday morning trying to clear standing water away from the roads from the rain that ushered in the storm. As the snow began to fall, the county used a sand and salt mixture to coat roads before they began to plow.
Some members of theWarsaw road crews have been working non-stop since Monday morning. They started to salt city roads when the snow began and have made six trips around the town so far.
Kim Leake, public works superintendent for Warsaw, said his crews have plowed the 78 miles of city streets three times as of Tuesday morning and plan to continue until the snow stops.
"We're trying to keep on top of it," Leake said. "We never stop until the snow stops."
Ladson said his crews have reported up to 4-foot-high drifts in the northwestern parts of the county.
Leake said there have been some drifts in out-lying streets in Warsaw. Since most of the high winds have come from the north, the east-west streets have drifted the most.
Both men said their salt and sand supplies are holding up well since the winter has been relatively mild until now. But snowplows and trucks that run off the road have become stuck in to the unfrozen ground along the roads. Warsaw and the county reported three of their vehicles getting tires stuck when they went off the roadway. The tires then sank, requiring another truck to pull them out.
Ladson said he has used a computerized satellite system to track the progress of the storm. Leake has also used a satellite system to follow the storm but said the snow at 2 a.m. this morning was a surprise caused by the lake effect.
"We're making headway," Ladson said. He said crews plan to do "more of the same" tomorrow until county roads are clear. [[In-content Ad]]