Allen County escaped the worst of a weekend winter snowstorm but residents still faced icy conditions, power outages and bitterly cold temperatures. The county courthouse and some businesses remained closed Monday, and Iola schools extended the winter break as classes were canceled.
The storm dropped a total of .65 inches of precipitation Saturday and Sunday, as reported at the Iola water plant. Most of that — .62 inches — fell as sleet or ice on Saturday, with about a quarter-inch of snow in most places.
A blown fuse resulted in a power outage to the south part of the city late Sunday afternoon, Administrator Matt Rehder said. It was fixed within an hour or so. A few individual residences faced power outages and crews responded promptly, he said. Crews returned by about 6 p.m.
Power outages also were reported throughout the county but electric services were fully restored by Monday morning, Emergency Management Director Jason Trego said. Moran was without power for a few hours Sunday, he said. Much of the east side of the county, extending north into Anderson and Linn counties, were without power Sunday morning into the late afternoon. Crews from Evergy and Heartland were making repairs as of late Sunday night.
“All things considered with how things are going statewide, we’re looking pretty good in Allen County,” Trego said.
Conditions were worse to the north, and highways across the state were closed by Sunday night. As of Monday morning, many were starting to reopen. I-70 was opened between Hays and Salina mid-Monday morning, but other sections remain closed. The Kansas Department of Transportation sent out alerts multiple times over the weekend, urging motorists to avoid travel.
A few slide-off accidents were reported to the Allen County Sheriff’s Department, but no serious injuries. Daren Kellerman with the sheriff’s department said deputies worked four accidents. All passengers were wearing seatbelts and only one minor injury was reported. A vehicle apparently slid off the road near 1710 Nevada Road, southeast of Iola, and took out 50 feet of fence, but left the scene without contacting the landowner or law enforcement.
Iola did not send crews to plow streets because of the freezing temperatures, Rehder said. Road treatment chemicals don’t work well in freezing temperatures, and any melted moisture would simply refreeze, he said.
“It’s more about traction, and we’re getting enough traction on the roads,” he said Monday morning. “There’s a little more traffic today. When temperatures get above freezing, then we can melt the ice, but right now it doesn’t make sense.”
Kellerman said deputies saw few motorists on the road and most appeared to drive cautiously. He gave credit to emergency dispatch operators, who received numerous calls about downed power lines, snapped poles and tree branches in the streets.
“We would like to recognize our dispatchers for doing great work like they always do, but also the citizens, and most especially those utility workers who put in a lot of long hours just to get everyone back up and running,” Kellerman said. “We know it can be frustrating being out of power, but it seemed everyone was pretty patient as they knew others around the country had it much worse.”
IOLA STUDENTS were supposed to return to classes Monday after the winter break, but school was canceled because of the conditions.
Humboldt and Marmaton Valley schools planned in-service days Monday but also canceled those.
Meals on Wheels delivery also was canceled Monday.
City Hall, though, remained open and city employees were on duty. Trash service continued as expected.
