By Adam Rollins, Record Staff Writer
While Winter Storm Jupiter proved challenging for many parts of the country, Warren County was spared from “The storm of the decade.”Officials at all levels of emergency management in Warren County were worried about what the weekend weather would bring. Perhaps haunted by the ghost of an unexpectedly hazardous ice storm in December, local emergency responders geared up for the forecasted three-fourths of an inch of accumulated ice between Friday and Sunday that Jupiter would bring.With extra staff on hand and emergency shelters on standby, responders were prepared for a weekend of traffic collisions, downed trees and power outages.What they got was a relatively calm three days with less than one-fourth of an inch of ice.In other parts of the state, it really was the storm of the decade. Four people died in vehicle-related accidents where slick roads were at least a contributing factor. The state Highway Patrol reported that it responded to about 100 crashes on Friday. And about 30,000 homes and businesses in Missouri lost power.Warrenton Fire Chief Mike Owenby said his department only had around 10 weather-related incidents, mostly cars sliding off roads. He said only two incidents were major.The first call of Friday morning was for an SUV that slid from Interstate 70 and tumbled onto its roof on the North Outer Road. On Saturday morning, a power outage at a retirement community in the Lakeview Estates area had firefighters worried they would have to transport residents who need oxygen machines. Owenby said Ameren came through and got the power back on within a couple of hours. Warrenton firefighters also responded to a medical call on a road too slick for an ambulance.Near Wright City, officials said a tractor-trailer westbound on the outer road slid through a 180-degree spin and tipped over in the median with Interstate 70. In the resulting slowdown, another tractor-trailer bumped a car off the road and jackknifed into the median.Other than that, officials said the weather wasn’t a major issue.Michael Daniels, director of the Warren County Emergency Management Agency, attributed the low number of incidents to advance preparation, low traffic and a good turn in the weather.“MoDOT got out and did a fantastic job of treating the roads, and cities and the county did a good job of treatment,” Daniels said. “I’m pleased the citizens heeded the warning if possible to stay off the roads. I think that was a tremendous help.”He said schools and businesses helped by closing on Friday, significantly reducing traffic and allowing agencies to keep the roads treated.Ice buildup wasn’t as severe as predicted with warmer-than-expected temperatures, and much of the freezing rain passed to the south of Warren County. That relieved a major threat to the county’s power lines. Daniels said the only outage he is aware of was at Lakeview Estates.Unlike the Dec. 16 ice storm that caught emergency agencies off guard and locked up traffic on I-70, this storm came with a week of advance warning.Representatives of area EMS, fire and law enforcement departments met with the Emergency Management Agency on Thursday to discuss plans for emergency operations. Daniels said that sort of coordination has been improving, especially in recent years.“I’m glad it wasn’t as bad as they said,” commented Wright City Fire Chief Ron MacKnight. “It was very quiet. Walking outside, you could hear there was no traffic.”MacKnight said during previous weather emergencies, having multiple traffic incidents on the interstate or outer road meant shutting that road down, which would prevent crews from applying treatment, which lead to further traffic incidents. He said that pattern didn’t happen this time, probably due to the low volume of traffic.The Wright City and Warrenton fire departments, like other area agencies, prepared for the worst over the weekend. MacKnight and Owenby said their departments had extra staff at the stations manning as many trucks as possible. The larger fire trucks struggle in icy conditions, so firefighters held those back when they could and loaded essential equipment onto smaller utility trucks with tire chains.MacKnight said his department ran operational briefings every 12 hours, kept apprised of the forecast and phoned in on conference calls with the National Weather Service. Firefighters even prepared chain saws in case they had to remove downed trees.In the end, the weekend’s weather in Warren County didn’t live up to the forecast.“And thank goodness,” MacKnight said.Wright City firefighters Kevin Hakenewerth, left, and Jesse McCoy test cutting equipment in preparation for an ice storm Friday, Jan. 13. There were relatively few emergency incidents over the weekend. Record photo, Adam Rollins.
