A record-setting winter storm resulted in unprecedented amounts of sw in the upper elevations of Placer County. Heavy sw and downed trees and utilities caused extensive road closures, travel complications, and damage to infrastructure. Placer County Department of Public Works Road Maintenance Division (“Placer Roads”) typically plows 200 miles of roadway in the rth Tahoe and Donner Pass area. In this storm, Placer Roads plowed and opened nearly 450 miles of roadway with storm accumulations of nearly 214″ of sw in the high elevations during December 2021, with widespread sw falling on lower elevations. The response was complicated by hundreds of downed trees in powerlines and utilities on county roadways and state highway road closures, avalanches, equipment failures, and smaller agencies in low elevations with little to sw removal ability. The county learned numerous staffing, contracting, communication, operations, customer service, and coordination lessons from this response which will be shared during this presentation.

At the conclusion of this session, participants will be better able to:
• Use the county’s swstorm emergency response lessons learned.
• Work with utilities and emergency responders when removing sw and opening roads with downed trees and utilities.
• Respond to unique challenges with low-elevation sw, including downed trees and utilities, and assist smaller jurisdictions and agencies who do t have sw removal capabilities.

Contributor/Source

Matt Randall

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