York County Press Release
YORK COUNTY – York County Sheriff Paul Vrbka says Wednesday’s blizzard “was just a mess. We were all out, all night and day, trying to respond to people who were stranded – the whole situation was just awful.”
Sheriff Vrbka said at one point during the blizzard, “We had probably about 12 vehicles out there stranded, with the occupants wanting us to come to get them. We certainly tried, but sometimes we just couldn’t get to them because of visibility and the depths of the drifts.”
He said motorists were stranded on Highways 34, 81, and 69, “and we had some stranded on county roads. We had five deputies going out all the time, most doing shifts of more than 12 hours.
“At 8 a.m., I tried to go toward McCool and made it as far as Hitz Towing when I realized I wasn’t even driving on the road because the visibility was so bad,” the sheriff said. “There were times we tried to go out and just had to turn around because we couldn’t see absolutely anything or the snow was so deep we just couldn’t get through. I think we were all just shocked by how many people were out on the roads when it was so absolutely terrible.
“We also had power lines down, some were on Highway 81 at one point, and we really, really appreciate Perennial Power and the Nebraska Public Power District for coming out and helping us when we called them,” Sheriff Vrbka continued. “And we really appreciate all the towing services for all their work all day, helping us, as the conditions were really dangerous. At one point, we even had a deputy get stuck in a four-wheel drive cruiser and he had to sit out there three hours until Hitz Towing could get him out. Even the snowplows were getting stuck. We are just so fortunate there were no serious accidents. Thank God no one was injured or killed.”
“The 911 call center was just swamped with calls all day – of people stranded and of people needing medical attention,” Sheriff Vrbka said. “It was a long day for them. When it came to the stranded people in their vehicles, we tried to prioritize, based on age, if they were elderly or if there were kids in the vehicles. It was just a mess. We tried as hard as we could to help everyone; it was just one of those really trying storms – one I hope we don’t see again for a really long time.”
