A sidewalk plow clears a path down Washington Street on Monday. (Journal photo by Annie Lippert)

NEGAUNEE TOWNSHIP — In response to the blizzard which hit the Upper Peninsula Sunday Night, Marquette County established an Emergency Operations Center in Negaunee Township to coordinate responses.

“We’ve been using the Emergency Operations Center the last couple of days throughout this incident and in preparation for this incident,” said Marquette County Director of Emergency Management Brian Hummel during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. “It’s a venue where we’re able to bring all of our partners that we work with together into the same room.”

Through establishing the EOC, the county was able to work with organizations like the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the Superior Watershed Partnership, the Community Foundation of Marquette County, United Way and others to secure supplies and resources.

On Tuesday, the EOC held a press conference to get out information on what county residents should keep in mind as the snow settles.

“We have concerns for structural safety, businesses and residents throughout the county, with a large amount of snowpack that we received,” said Undersheriff Lowell Larson during the press conference. “We want to make sure people are keeping that extra weight off the roofs to the best of their ability, so that we don’t have any structural collapses or damage because of the heavy weight on the roofs.”

Several buildings have already experienced collapsed roofs this winter, including the Westwood Mall.

“We also want to remind people to keep all of the vents clear on their gas-burning appliances,”

said Larson. “Central dispatch is reporting a large amount of carbon monoxide calls that are being triggered from these devices not being able to vent properly. Also, for those that are using a generator that have lost utility power, we remind you to practice safe generator usage.”

Larson also commented on the state of the roads.

“As far as travel goes, the road commission reports that all primary roads are open, with the exception of County Road 607,” said Larson “Most secondary roads are passable. They may be a lot more narrow than traditional plowing because of the vast amounts of snow. We urge you to travel with caution; watching for utility crews or personnel working in the area on restoration efforts.

While there haven’t yet been requests for emergency shelters, the EOC is prepared and equipped to respond should that need arise.

“As far as shelters go, we have currently not received specific requests for people that need shelters, but we are continuing to evaluate that need, and once we get a need we will look at locations and personnel for staffing,” said Larson. “We have supplies and staff prepped at different areas throughout the county so that we are ready to go. If you are in need of shelter, please call 211 to identify yourself and your needs. That information will be routed to us, and then we can work collaboratively to do the best that we can in providing that.”

While the storm itself has passed, its effects are far from over. As the spring gets warmer, all of that snow will begin to melt.

“As far as future outlook, we are very concerned with the large amount of snowpack that we have in our region,” said Larson. “Obviously, this snowpack is on top of what is already a very heavy snowfall winter — this all has to melt. There’s a tremendous amount of water volume captured within that snow. We are looking at that.

“As of last night and this morning, we had two reports of potential flooding. One of those was in the Cataract Basin, down in the Gwinn area. We are monitoring that as we speak. There was (also) an isolated call in the Silver Creek area in Chocolay Township. It was just a single residence reporting that the water seemed to be rising more than usual. However, a recent report at Chocolay River indicates that there has not been an excessive rise there. But we are watching and monitoring that.”

“The emergency operations center personnel are working and networking with the National Weather Service and many other partners to predict and respond to the potential flooding from this extreme amount of snowpack on the ground.

“We haven’t identified any immediate risks regarding the floodings,” clarified Larson. “…We won’t want to instill a panic or anything, but we just wanted to make sure people understood that we are watching out for this and trying to evaluate any potential problems.”

Finally, Larson gave official comment on the status of the Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport.

“The airport remains closed at this time, and for those people looking to retrieve a vehicle or travel to the airport, please be patient with the staff that is attempting to clean out both access to the airport and the terminal’s parking area,” said Larson.

The EOC is “an opportunity for us to more effectively work together, bring those partners in the same space, and (through the EOC) we’re able to solution problems more quickly for the public,” said Hummel.

Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is alippert@miningjournal.net.