Storm wallops area with ice and snow

Several hundred area residents lost power and many others saw damage to their trees, landscaping and structures as a result of last week’s winter storm that struck the area with a one-two punch of ice and snow.

In the first round of severe weather the area was hit with an ice storm the evening of Dec 13 into Dec. 14. While temperatures remained relatively mild hovering the low 30s the ice accumulations on roads made driving and walking on untreated roads and surfaces dangerous. Schools in Medford, Rib Lake and Gilman were all closed due to conditions.

Things went from bad to worse overnight on Dec. 14 as the precipitation turned into heavy snow which blanketed the area into the morning of Dec. 15. School was canceled for a second day, leading to scrambling to reschedule elementary Christmas concerts.

The combination of ice and snow caused the failure of electric system components causing significant damage. Other power and communication lines were taken down by the accumulation of ice and snow. In addition, trees and branches already weighted down by the ice broke under the weight of the snow resulting in downed power lines, blocked roads and driveways and damage to people’s homes.

See STORM on page 3 In the Perkinstown area, Krug’s Northwoods Game Birds reported the heavy ice and snow brought down enclosures and fencing leading to the release of an estimated 10,000 birds. Crews worked through the weekend to attempt to round up the birds which had flown into nearby wooded areas.

The region’s electric grid took a beating with the storm. In the city of Medford there were numerous outages reported with crews working through the night and the next day to get them repaired and service restored.

In addition, Xcel Energy, Taylor Electric Cooperative and Jump River Electric Cooperative all reported outages. More than 400 area customers of Jump River Electric were still without power over the weekend.

As of 7:45 p.m. Sunday night, Jump River Electric reported that power had been restored to most of its members with crews continuing to work through the night to restore power to their remaining members. With the meteorological start of winter on Dec. 21, the area is bracing for another round of storms that are forecasted to begin Wednesday night and go through the morning of Saturday, Dec. 24. Forecasters are predicting up to eight additional inches of snowfall for Taylor County coupled with single digit temperatures and strong winds. White out conditions are expected along with potentially life-threatening wind chills.