Thursday, February 25, 2010
Garrett Co. Receives Record Snowfall; DNR Tries To Help Towns Remove It
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Feb. 25, 2010
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Director Brad Frantz, Garrett County Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management, told the county commissioners on Tuesday about battling winter weather.
The county’s average snowfall is 116 inches, and the old record for one season, 2002-2003, was about 233 inches. More than 235 inches have fallen on the county so far this winter, much of which arrived this month. And more is expected, Frantz noted.
“There is another round of potentially significant snowfall on the horizon,” he said about this week’s bout with the white stuff.
He stressed, however, that accumulations probably will not be as much as in past weeks, about 6 inches each day.
The director also noted that a rumor circulating throughout the county about a massive snowstorm headed this way was based entirely on a hoax. Someone claiming to be with the National Weather Service recently sent out e-mails stating the area would receive about 50 inches of snow this week. The NWS never issued such a statement.
Frantz commended his staff, police officers, road crews, and volunteer fire and rescue squads for their efforts during this month’s storms.
“We’ve had some very difficult calls to make in the last couple of weeks,” Frantz said about dealing with the weather.
The governor lifted his state of emergency declaration on Tuesday. The commissioners also lifted the county’s declaration. Both had been in place since Feb. 5.
Frantz noted his staff would be “working all angles” to get a federal disaster declaration for Garrett County because of this month’s weather. With the declaration, local entities could receive reimbursement for some of the costs involved in dealing with the weather. Frantz said agencies should begin gathering their documentation now and have it ready in case a disaster declaration does come about.
The director noted, however, that there has to be a “watermark event” in order to qualify for a declaration. In addition, reimbursement is only given to costs that are above normal operations.
Frantz said the declaration may depend on whether or not the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Region III office considers February’s weath-er as separate storms or one long prolonged event, which would be to Garrett County’s advantage.
“These were not single storms that came and went. It was an accumulative effect, and logically that’s the way it should be considered,” said Commissioner Ernie Gregg about a declaration.
Frantz indicated that even if Region III does not feel a declaration is warranted, the national FEMA office and, ultimately, the president could override that decision.
The director noted that a disaster declaration was given for Maryland’s Dec. 18-20, 2009, storm, but only in eight counties: Baltimore, Caroline, Cecil, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, and Queen Anne’s.
“Sometimes we’re victimized by our own efficiency,” Gregg said about getting assistance. “We’re able to, literally, conduct business as usual, and we’re being penalized.”
Frantz said that was “abundantly clear.” He said the county did not ask for snow removal assistance early on in the emergency declaration because the whole state was dealing with the situation and other areas may have needed it more.
“I’m not very pleased with how that all played out,” Frantz said.
He later submitted a formal request to state officials for assistance, in the form of equipment and manpower, for local towns. Frantz said he specifically told officials that the towns needed help loading up and hauling snow away, clearing fire hydrants, and widening intersections for emergency vehicles.
Both the State Highway Administration and National Guard declined to help, even though the state of emergency was still in effect.
Frantz then turned to the Department of Natural Resource, which offered to provide manpower and some equipment, but noted additional support in the form of dump trucks would be needed. A second request for help was made to SHA and National Guard.
“We were told that was coming,” Frantz said about support.
The DNR showed up this past weekend, but no dump trucks arrived. Frantz said at some level, somewhere, the trucks were stopped. So, basically, the DNR was left to handle the situation alone, the director indicated.
The DNR was able to do some work in five towns: Loch Lynn, Deer Park, Accident, Friendsville, and Grantsville. Frantz said DNR personnel worked very hard, but just did not have all the resources they needed to get the job done.
Read the rest of the article here.
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