County urges vigilance, patience after storms

SANDPOINT — Bonner County Emergency Management is urging vigilance and patience as the community digs out from snowstorms that shellacked the area on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The department said Bonner County Road & Bridge and private sector utility crews were responding to downed trees across roadways and fouled power lines throughout both days.

“It is all-hands-on-deck for the utility crews, Bonner County road crew and support staff in responding to outages and blocked county roads that are occurring as heavy snow loads continue to weigh heavily on the nearby trees and power lines.

The plowing is slow going as the road crew works to cut trees prior to plowing,” the department said in a news release.

The department is also urging residents and businesses to keep their roofs free of buildup.

Saturated snow can weigh as much as 20 pounds per cubic foot, according to Mutual Benefit Group, an insurance company. On average, 2 feet of snow can equal up to 19 tons of weight on a roof, which can significantly weaken the structure.

“Snow loading can constitute the most severe test of structural integrity for structures that are constructed in areas where large accumulations of snow are encountered,” researchers said in a 2015 University of Idaho study on ground snow loading.

The National Weather Service in Spokane is calling for a 40-percent chance of snow today with light and variable winds. A 30-percent chance of snow is forecasted for Friday, although the sun is expected to shine by Saturday.

The U.S. Forest Service’s Panhandle Avalanche Center, meanwhile, is warning backcountry visitors of the existence of very dangerous avalanche conditions in the Cabinet and Selkirk mountains because a large amount of snow was deposited on a very weak snowpack.

Anywhere from 1-3 feet of snowfall overlies the weak base of snow, which is of low density and not supportive of additional loading, the National Weather Service said in an avalanche warning posted on Wednesday.

The avalanche risk near and above tree lines is rated as “high,” while the risk below tree lines remain “considerable.”

Human-triggered slides are likely on slopes above 30 degrees, according to the avalanche center.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.