The City of Negaunee was among the many Upper Peninsula communities that was digging out on Tuesday after the blizzard finally moved out after two days.
According to the National Weather Service, Negaunee recorded 37.6 inches of snow from this event.
Negaunee City Manager Nate Heffron told RRN’s Caleb Gordon on Tuesday afternoon that they’re used to that kind of snowfall. But this storm was different.
“If this was just simple snow falling down, and we got several feet of snow, it would be a lot easier,” Heffron said. “The blizzard conditions, with the wind that was blowing so hard, it was defeating the purpose of snowplowing. People could see that from their own driveways and snowblowing as well. So, we just did our best to try to keep the main arteries open for emergency vehicles. And just to keep up with the snow.”
Heffron said the wind would send snow drifts back into places where they had just plowed 25, 30 minutes before. And he says visibility was so poor that they were worried about running into other vehicles. Most people did stay home, so we appreciate that.”
And so on Monday, he did what several other UP communities did: retreat.
“Around 6 p.m., we sent people home, and decided to let the snow kind of do what it was going to do,” Heffron said. “We came back out early in the morning and started to clean the roads again.”
Heffron says they have 52 miles of roads to clear in Negaunee, and not all of them are going to be unclogged quickly. The same goes for alleys, parking lots, and intersections. He says one goal is to cut back the huge snowbanks to improve safety in those areas.
Heffron says they’ll continue working hard until every street and alleyway is cleaned.
“It could take upwards of a week, week-and-a-half,” he said.
But he says city services should all be restored within the next day or two.
To hear Caleb Gordon’s interview with Nate Heffron, click here:
Photo courtesy of Blake Becker from Love & Bicycles
Comments