Late snowfall causes accidents and cleanup for Bend police, fire and the city
(Update: Adding video, comments from Bend Fire, city of Bend)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- This week's snowfall marked the fourth month in a row for Bend city crews clearing streets. Bend Police and Bend Fire have also been busy with wintertime emergencies.
"Throughout this winter, we have seen our typical calls," Deputy Fire Marshal Dan Derlacki said Wednesday. "We get snow and ice-cold weather. We've had our fair amount of motor vehicle accidents, cold-weather injuries."
Derlacki reflected on the winter. The first snowfall hit December 1st - and the latest on Tuesday.
Over both time periods, Bend Fire has been up to Mt. Bachelor 58 times for cold-weather injuries.
Overall, in a year's time, Bend Fire has answered calls for 98 car accidents.
Derlacki said, "Going for in the springtime - we're going to get the cold weather at night and we're going to warm weather during the day. Any moisture that's on the road during the day, what was water is going to be ice at night."
The number of accidents jumped to 107 in recent weeks, in part because of frequent icy conditions in January.
In an effort to keep roads safe, the City of Bend has a lengthy checklist in preparation for the winter season.
Bend Transportation and Mobility Director David Abbas walked us through those preparations.
"Snowplows, make sure all the mounting hardware and every thing's ready to go. We put the sliding and sanding units into the back of the dump trucks that we used during the summer construction season, getting those ready for sanding operations."
The City of Bend has 37 pieces of equipment for tackling cold-weather conditions.
Two temporary workers are hired for clearing roads on a three-month timeframe, with an option to extend if the snow keeps falling. About 30 year-round workers also have winter duties.
Abbas said, "We've called out contractors twice this year, so we normally budget for around two and a half callouts per per year just based on history and how our winters have been so, so far this winter, we're doing okay."
On Tuesday alone, Bend Police told us there were six car accidents, and another 20 plus hazards, where vehicles were either stuck in snow or sliding off the roadway.
