A record-setting winter storm resulted in unprecedented amounts of snow in the upper elevations of Placer County. Heavy snow 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 North 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 snow in the high elevations during December 2021, with widespread snow 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 no snow 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 snowstorm emergency response lessons learned.
• Work with utilities and emergency responders when removing snow and opening roads with downed trees and utilities.
• Respond to unique challenges with low-elevation snow, including downed trees and utilities, and assist smaller jurisdictions and agencies who do not have snow removal capabilities.

Contributor/Source

Matt Randall

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