Los Alamos County Traffic & Streets Division Manager Dan Erickson, center, and his crew at the Pajarito Cliffs Site Wednesday stand ready to take on anything Mother Nature dishes out. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

Los Alamos County Traffic and Streets Division Manager Dan Erickson and his crew at the Pajarito Cliffs Site at 101 Camino Entrada, stand ready to clear snow and ice from local streets no matter the time of day or night.

“We are so blessed in this county to have such outstanding people working to keep our streets clear for our citizens,” Erickson said. “They do an incredible job and we’re very proud of them.”

Erickson explains that the County’s base crew is comprised of 22 employees who work in the Traffic and Streets Division. In the event of a major storm, there are an additional 39 people from the Parks and Facilities Division ready to step in and assist with everything from shoveling snow to operating snow plows and sand spreading equipment.

The County’s snow response equipment includes:

• 4 snow plows
• 6 dump trucks with snow plows and sand spreaders
• 11 pickups with snow plows
• 2 back hoes
• 1 frontend loader
• 3 sidewalk plows
• 1 small ride-on snowplow
• 1 motor grader with snow blade, and  
• 1 large airport snow plow for runway snow removal.

Public Works Director Philo Shelton addressed several ways in which residents can help the crews during inclement weather.

“Residents parking off streets will help our snow plowing operations and we would like to ask residents to shovel their sidewalks away from the street after snow storms as that will also help us,” Shelton said. “Snow in December and January does not melt as quickly as other times of the year. The recent accumulation of snow is leaving little places for crews to put new snow.”

For road safety Shelton suggests residents have good snow tires on their vehicles and make sure they clear snow and ice from the windows and roof of their vehicle so it does obstruct their vision while driving. He also said that putting sand bags in the rear of a vehicle will help with traction and help avoid skidding on icy spots.

The National Weather Service predicts a low this evening around 19 degrees with a 70 percent chance of snow.