Be Prepared...
 DANGEROUS/IMPOSSIBLE MOUNTAIN TRAVEL
Saturday, March 4 - Monday, March 6
It has been a crazy week in El Dorado County, and the days ahead look just as challenging.
El Dorado County's Office of Emergency Services, our county road crews, fire districts, utility companies, county staff, emergency personnel and community partners have all been working tirelessly to address the tremendous impacts of these record snowstorms. That said, power outages, downed trees and unplowed roads are taking a toll on all of you. Thank you for your patience and we encourage you to stay alert, informed and be prepared for the next series of storms.
My office has been receiving a slew of calls and inquiries and I thought it would be helpful to address some of the common concerns.
1. If you have questions about plowing or want to report an issue, please call 530-642-4909 during business hours. If it is after business hours, staff will get back to you the next working day.
2. As for how plowing is done in Camino, my understanding is that Carson Road is addressed first then our plows work out from there. If our truck comes upon a road with a downed tree or power line, that condition is called in and the truck moves on to a road that can be cleared. Once the route is done, they go back to Carson and start the route all over again.
3. We have been experiencing record snow levels, and many residents in Camino have complained about the large berms that are created by the plow trucks in their driveways. I spoke with our DOT director this afternoon to better understand the situation, and while I do not have good news for our West Slope residents, it is helpful to understand the facts and reality we are dealing with.
In the Tahoe basin, we have commercial snow equipment which includes plows with a gate system that does not create the berms many of you on the West Slope are experiencing. That equipment is for regions with consistent, heavy snowfall, and El Dorado County has made a significant investment in industrial type equipment to handle Tahoe's snow loads. On the West Slope, the Camino region just does not experience that level of snow on a consistent basis, so our equipment is different. We would have to invest over $10 million on the West Slope to have equipment with gate systems, and our snowfall is not consistent or heavy enough to warrant that. Placer County has the same situation between the North Shore and lower communities. They also handle snow removal and plowing the same way.
As time goes on and if we see a significant change in weather patterns that would warrant that kind of investment, we can reassess. Until then, it just does not make sense to do.
4. As the next storm moves in, we urge you to be prepared with food, water, wood or generators to weather additional power outages and perhaps impassable conditions. Tomorrow, the Placerville library will host a food distribution event with the El Dorado County Food Bank. Please take advantage of this if it would be helpful to you and your family!
I will be staying in close contact with our Office of Emergency Services throughout the weekend, and we will be updating El Dorado County's facebook page regularly. Stay safe, be prepared, and look out for your neighbor. Please know we will do everything we can to address the impacts of the storm and keep our County safe.
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SUPERVISOR WENDY THOMAS
District 3
If you have any questions, call my office: 530.621.5652
Email:bosthree@edcgov.us
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