STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADO-September 8, 2020-A cold front brought the first snow of the season to the Yampa Valley early Tuesday morning and literally left a swath of damage across the city as strong winds and sustained gusts brought numerous trees and overhead lines toppling and caused power outages in many areas.
“This is unlike anything we’ve seen,” said Public Works Director Jon Snyder. “As fast as we’re opening roadways, new trees are coming down from the ongoing winds and gusts. We’ll continue to monitor and respond today before moving into clean up after the storm subsides.”
The Streets Division has been out since the early hours clearing downed trees from roadways and ensuring critical routes remain passable. After clearing trees off roads, Streets personnel will return to remove any trees that fell from the city’s right of way. However, 95% of the downed trees are from private property so owners will be ultimately responsible for their removal and clean up.
Outages led to the traffic signal at 3rd Street and Lincoln Avenue going out as police officers directed traffic and battled winds, wind chill and cold temperatures much of the day. In addition, Walton Creek Road between US40 and Owl Hoot Trail was closed as crews worked to clear downed lines and trees. Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue responded to numerous calls including numerous downed power lines.
Steamboat Springs Transit (SST) remained running on all its routes despite some temporary bus stop closures/relocations in the mountain area due to weather conditions. Motorists heading over Rabbit Ears Pass weren’t as lucky seeing US40 close for a portion of the morning due to accidents, icy conditions and blowing snow.
Parks & Recreation is responding to roadways and commuter trails impacted by the storm and staff will assess and clean up parks, trails, and open spaces once the storm moves out of the area. Over the coming days, parks, trails, and open space users should anticipate encountering down trees until crews can get to them.
To report a downed tree on a city road, contact Streets at 970.879.1807 and on city trails to Parks & Recreation at 970.879.4300. If you encounter downed powerlines, call 911 for Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue or the power company. Remember, never approach or try to move a downed line.
-WeServeTheCity-
Contacts
Jon Snyder, Public Works Director, 970.871.8207 or email
Chuck Cerasoli, Interim Fire Chief, 970.879.7170 or email
Michael Lane, Communications Manager, 970.871.8220 or email