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The holiday season was anything but a vacation for employees of the Spokane Valley Fire Department.
From traffic accidents to broken pipes, buried fire hydrants to leaking roofs, severe winter weather has meant eventful times for emergency personnel throughout Spokane County. Bill Clifford, a spokesman with SVFD, said calls are up some 30 percent from normal.
“It’s been extremely busy,” Clifford said. “We’ve seen more medical incidents because of the weather, people falling or reporting chest pains.”
When the snowfall was finally tallied for December, the record-setting count came in at 60 inches, including 56 inches from Dec. 16-31. The Dollar Store at Sprague and Sullivan was one of a number of businesses to report structural damage from excess snow last month. The location – as well as neighboring establishments like Walgreens – closed Dec. 27 after part of the roof caved in.
Clifford said fire personnel have been working with building officials in the city of Spokane Valley and other jurisdictions to evaluate safety conditions of structures weighed down by heavy snow.
“It’s a situation where the building can be closed if it’s deemed unsafe,” Clifford said.
At the Rosauers store on Sprague and University, workers continued to shovel snow off the roof this week. On Dec. 30, the Rosauers site on Francis in Spokane shut down after a large portion of the roof collapsed. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart stores in Airway Heights and Post Falls were closed temporarily due to concerns about heavy snow.
Jeff Phillips, president of Rosauers, said the company sets aside a budget each year for snow removal in its parking lots – but now must spend money to clear the roofs.
“We’ve had upwards of 30 people up there each day,” Phillips said. “We’re definitely tired of seeing snow in the weather forecasts.”
Phillips said the company was trying to find additional shifts for workers impacted by the closing of the Francis store. Over 100 employees were affected.
At Washington Auto Collision on Sprague, owner Gary Tolerico saw nearly a dozen new damaged vehicles report to his shop on Monday. The business is the preferred repair sit for five different insurance companies.
“It’s definitely picked up recently,” Tolerico said. “We’re seeing a lot a slide-offs, suspension damage, that kind of thing.”
As snow berms continued to pile higher throughout the area this week, Clifford urged motorists to “slow down, keep their headlights on and be aware of people entering the roadway.”
Towering berms are reducing sight lines at many intersections and cross streets, creating perilous conditions for drivers pulling out from a stop. Two vehicles were involved in an accident last Saturday as a motorist attempted to navigate beyond a berm at the corner of Adams and Broadway and collided with a car headed east toward Sullivan.
Road crews with Spokane County continued to clear roads throughout Spokane Valley and the surrounding areas this week. Martha Lou Wheatley-Billeter, a spokeswoman for Spokane County, estimated that removal costs were running up to $150,000 a day, countywide.
As the snow continued to fall last week, Spokane Valley, Spokane County and the city of Spokane all declared a state of emergency. Spokane Valley Mayor Rich Munson expressed hope that the declaration would, at some point, bring state funds to help with the ongoing excavation.
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By
Craig Howard
