A state of emergency in Park County on Monday left some homes and ranches stranded, but folks who could bear up to the powerful wind and drifting snow to make it to town took the winter storm in stride.
“We always have fun,” said 17-year-old waiter Josh Rusan, as a noisy crowd at the South Park Bowl in Fairplay enjoyed eating, drinking and rolling strikes on a stormy Monday night.
The conditions outside suggested a need for concern, as blowing, wet snow covered roads faster than plows could keep up, said Lori Hodges, emergency-management director for Park County.
Snowdrifts have piled up between 10 feet and 24 feet from a series of moderate snowstorms since mid-December.
“If the wind would just stop blowing, we could catch up,” a tired-sounding Hodges said Monday evening.
The American Red Cross set up a shelter for up to 80 people at the county fairgrounds Monday evening, but when U.S. 285 reopened at about 8 p.m., stranded travelers moved on.
Park County road and bridge crews have been working 20-hour days since last week. The state sent crews, and local firefighters are delivering supplies to stranded residents.
El Paso, Chaffee, Jefferson, Summit and Teller counties have pledged aid in the form of Sno-Cats, snowplows, graders and their operators, said Mike Roll, chief of the North-West Fire Protection District that covers 278 square miles of the county.
Carl Burroughs of the National Weather Service said the winds will be blowing about 30 mph today and Wednesday. He said today should be sunny, with a new storm moving in Wednesday night and Thursday.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
