Ice Shuts Down Tri-State Area, Bryant Family Hosts Stranded Travelers
Photo courtesy of Dade County Sheriff’s Office – Freezing temps led to ice and treacherous roads last week. Pictured here around noon on Jan. 16, a tractor trailer was being towed on GA-299.
By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor
Last week, ice wreaked havoc on the roads. Temperatures in the single digits and windshields in the negatives led to traffic accidents, closed businesses, and a week of school closings.
Dade County Schools were closed on January 12th due to wind storms, on the 15th for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the 16th-19th because of ice. While the valley had cleared up by Thursday the 18th, secondary roads on the mountains remained icy and too dangerous for school buses to travel.
Alex Case (EMA director) reported that county and state road crews began working on Monday the 15th and continued to work throughout the winter storm and afterwards, attempting to clear the ice. He explained that the county purchased new salt and equipment last year, but “at these temperatures and windshields, the salt will not do its job. It will start melting, and then just refreeze over.”
Of the low temperatures for an extended period of time, Ted Rumley (county executive) added, “It’s not something we’ve gone through in the last ten years or so.”
The county opened all storm shelters to serve as warming shelters (equipped with emergency power, medicine, food, drinks, sleeping cots, sleeping bags, phones and a speaker system for two-way communication, and video surveillance), but Case reported that, thankfully, there were very few power outages. As of the afternoon of Thursday the 19th, no one had used the shelters.
On Tuesday the 16th, I-24 was shut down in both directions for about 50 miles (from Monteagle to the I-75 split) due to accidents. While finishing up at one call on GA-299, a Dade County Sheriff’s Office deputy got a call for an accident on I-24. While responding to the second call, a semi slid into the deputy’s vehicle.
This was one of many incidents. Poor road conditions and high call volume led to delayed response times. Case reported that all nearby wrecker services took a break after working for 48 hours straight, and tow truck companies could not meet the demand.
With the interstate shut down, GPS systems rerouted drivers over Sand Mountain on more treacherous roads. By Tuesday evening, over 20 motorists were stranded at the north end of Sand Mountain, but the kind-hearted owner of an overnight vacation rental offered up rooms at no charge.
Local 3 News reported that Highland EMS responded to a call about a vehicle crushed by a semi, arriving at a scene of jackknifed semi trucks and vehicles off the road. Brent Hill, owner of Paradise Pointe in Bryant, Ala., offered to house the stranded drivers.
Hill told Local 3 News, “We’re glad to help people. That’s what it’s all about.” J’s Hole in the Wall also pitched in, helping to provide meals. Sylvia Hill (Hill’s sister) told the Sentinel that the restaurant prepared about three meals, and her brother picked up pizzas and shared groceries from his family’s own supply.
As of the morning of the 19th, the tri-state corner remained icy and 14 guests were still at Paradise Pointe, waiting for car repairs. Tow trucks were working to clear all the vehicles. At least one vehicle was totaled. Sylvia reported that her brother helped guests work on their vehicles and stayed busy throughout the week running errands. “My brother’s just that type,” she said. “They were blown away. They had never been treated this way.”
Temperatures stayed low over the weekend, and as residents kept faucets dripping to keep pipes from freezing, the high demand for water resulted in low water pressure for some residents.
