Teller County Officials warning residents to prepare for more snowfall this weekend
TELLER COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - As the county remains in a state of emergency, Teller County officials are now warning people to have at least 72 hours worth of food, water, fuel and batteries ready as they anticipate the next snowfall to hit the rural parts of Teller County the hardest.
"Be prepared to spend a day [or] two days where you cannot get in and out again because we don't know what the snow totals will be until the storm gets here," Teller County Commissioner Erik Stone said.
Stone said many people in Teller County who needed help were those vacationing in homes and many were underprepared for the emergency. He urged those traveling or vacationing in rural Colorado to take a look at the forecast before getting to their destination and be prepared to potentially be trapped in their vacation home for a couple of days.
Additionally, the last storm that swept through Teller County broke parts on seven total county vehicles, five of which are now repaired and ready for the next wave of snow to hit the county on Sunday.
Officials are telling people to stock up on necessities because of how the last storm played out, stripping many people of access to electricity and water for days, causing them to declare an emergency.
"We're still in the emergency because we're having to account for the expenses and we'll send that to the state to see if we can get some reimbursement. So we're prepared and we're ready for the next one," Teller County Commissioner Dan Williams said.
Williams said they're still totaling the costs of the last storm for the county, and expect this next weekend to add to the totals, which is why the county is remaining in a state of emergency through the weekend to allow for State resources to help if needed.
"This really is the big [storm]. Our records show at least 20, 25 years [since we've had this amount of snow]" Williams said.
On Friday, Williams told KRDO13 that the mud created by snow melting onto dirt roads also made the rural parts of the county difficult to navigate, especially for emergency vehicles. He also said the Teller County Sheriff's office received over 5,000 calls to the snow emergency hotline in about three days.
"We still have the medical calls. We still have people who may have slipped, fallen, have heart conditions, all those types of calls. The other side of it, too, is we still have domestic violence issues. We still have other issues that would be not normal but are in the household at the time," Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said.
