Snow, slush brings area to a halt

There were fender-benders and vehicles stuck in ditches all over — but the real casualties of Kitsap’s most recent snow storm were pedestrians.

“It ranged from minor bruises and cuts to a broken back. Mostly kids and adults,” said Patti Hart, spokeswoman for Harrison Hospital. “No senior citizens ... I think they had enough sense to stay home.”

Nearly 50 people were transported to Harrison’s two emergency rooms in East Bremerton and to the hospital’s Urgent Care Center in Silverdale on Tuesday and Wednesday, the worst days of the storm. Flakes started falling very early Tuesday morning — while most of the peninsula slept — and kept falling. By Wednesday, four to six inches had accumulated. Finally, late Wednesday and early Thursday, precipitation turned into scattered frozen rain — which began to melt the snow into watery slush and ice.

This still made for slippery conditions.

Whether dry snow or rain-melted slush and ice, those who went outside on foot often found themselves on their backside.

“Our worst injury was to a youngster who was sledding on a street, being pulled along by one of those all-terrain vehicles. He went off the road, crashed, and broke his back. The Belfair youngster is not paralyzed, but he’s going to have a long recovery,” said Hart.

Kids, who were out of school both days, being pulled by vehicles could be seen on many smaller streets in the county. They reportedly used turkey basting pans, squares of scrap sheet-metal, cardboard, actual snow sleds and other contraptions. The problem, said hospital officials, is that the kids couldn’t steer, and often ran off the road into trees or mailboxes.

As for adults out for a walk, hundreds slipped and fell, suffering minor injuries not seen by the hospital. But some — in trying to break their fall — suffered broken wrists and ankles, she said.

“I was surprised by the high number of injured. Our emergency rooms were busy,” said Hart.

Naval Hospital Bremerton reported no injuries. The hospital scaled back accepting patients Tuesday: Those in for routine procedures were turned away, only serious emergencies were accepted, said Larry Coffey, hospital spokesman. The hospital was back up to full-service Wednesday, Jan. 7.

Out on the roads, almost all bus routes for Kitsap Transit were seriously affected, said John Clauson, service development director.

“We had to go to our ‘Snow Routes’ plan which, basically, involves routes with fewer hills.” he said. “In Bremerton, some streets were closed altogether. We called in extra buses and drivers to stay on schedule in the county.”

He said Kitsap Transit had buses “throw chains” or get stuck in ditches. A number of buses had to be winched or towed out.

“One bus coming down (southbound on SR 3) from Poulsbo had its rear tires go flat at the Trigger off-ramp,” Clauson said. “In many cases buses found they couldn’t move and had to wait until we could get out there and spread some sand.”

Riders had to transfer to another bus on some occasions, he added. On Tuesday night, the transit service went to “Emergency” mode and stopped sending its buses down side streets. “We tried to get riders as close as possible to their homes.”

Roads were busiest around noon on Tuesday as workers that made it in during the morning at Naval Station Bremerton, Keyport, Subase Bangor and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard were sent home early.

Susan Harris of the Washington State Ferries said there were no problems once commuters got on the ferries. “The problems were at either end of a run. A lot of our regular customers couldn’t get to terminals,” she said. “All of our staff was able to get to work, though.”

Callene Abernathy, a spokeswoman for Kitsap County Public Works, said its workers skipped the New Year’s holiday and worked long hours during the second storm as well, clearing county roads. They used tractors to scrape snow and ice from roads, and snow plows. They also spread sand on the worst spots and steep hillside roads.

“We started with the major arterials,” she said. “Then the smaller feeder streets. We couldn’t get to everybody.” No numbers were available on how much sand was spread or the number of plows used.

She commented that Silverdale and the county are not out of the woods yet. Following a storm of this magnitude, melting snow can lead to flood waters. She said Public Works was checking drains and catch basins to make sure everything is clear and functional. Drivers are cautioned about the possibility of flooded streets.

Trooper Glen Tyrrell of the Washington State Patrol said troopers responded to a dozen traffic accidents in CK on Tuesday — mostly on SR 3. On Wednesday they responded to 22 storm-related incidents, he said. There were no injuries.

“We also responded to dozens of incidents — too numerous to count or write up reports on — involving troopers simply pulling or pushing someone out of a snow bank or off a patch of ice,” he said.

Carl Cerniglia, a meteorologist with the Seattle office of the National Weather Service, said Thursday that today will be mostly dry and warmer. Monday through Wednesday of next week will see more rainfall. For the next couple of weeks — about as far into the future as meteorologists are willing to look — will continue the same: Warmer and wetter. Too early to tell if there’s more snow in Kitsap’s future, he said.

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