With more than a foot of heavy, wet snow falling in some parts of the Mission Valley last weekend, road crews and first responders worked around the clock.

Mark Clary, head of Lake County’s Office of Emergency Management, said dispatchers fielded 87 calls for service concerning the wind and snow event that began Friday and ended Monday with rain. Among those calls, residents reported utility issues, vehicle accidents and slide ins, roadway debris and other public safety hazards.

In a press release posted Tuesday morning on its Facebook page, Mission Valley Power said crews were still working on outages on North Finley Point, as well as areas along Kings Point Road and Rocky Point Road on the west shore of Flathead Lake. A few outages still remained in the Arlee and Evaro areas too.

“MVP employees will be working throughout the day and into the evening to safely restore power,” reads the announcement.

By Monday morning, power had been largely restored in areas along St. Mary’s Lake Road, east of St. Ignatius, and crews were at work in the Jocko Canyon east of Arlee, as well as adjacent to the Mission Mountains, east of Ronan.

According to the press release crews were “continuously working around the clock” over the weekend to address outages caused by the heavy snow and wind. By Tuesday, resources were somewhat limited, since those who had worked nonstop were required to have a mandatory rest period before resuming their efforts.

Eugene Beckes, who lives east of St. Ignatius, reported that he and his wife lost power for about 12 hours after “a small but tall tree loaded down with snow, curled over the high-tension line that runs down our driveway and over our carport.” Smoke began rising from the tree, and a Mission Valley Power employee arrived to turn off the power and knock enough snow from the tree to allow it to lift from the sagging power line.

However, they still had to wait for MVP to arrive with a truck and hydraulic bucket and trim the tree before power could be restored.

“You sure appreciate electricity when you don't have it,” wrote Beckes. The couple ate dinner in an increasingly cold house, guided by flashlights, went to bed and woke up at 1 a.m. when power was restored.

“The miracle men from MVP had come and performed their magic act in the middle of the night and all we could say was ‘thank you!’”

Polson Rural Fire Department reported on Facebook that they had responded to numerous calls, “including downed trees and power lines, false alarms likely related to power issues, ambulance assists, and a vehicle slide in.”

The post also noted that warmer-than-average temperatures forecast for the week ahead could cause localized flooding, and advised residents “to keep an eye on your property to prevent any damages.”

A note to the weather gods: Friday, March 20, is the first day of Spring. 

    The Missions, along with the trees, received heavy snowfall over the weekend. (Emily Messer/Leader)
  

    The morning sunrise glazes the snowy pine cones in St. Ignatius on the cold Sunday morning. (Emily Messer/Leader)