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LATEST NEWS (Monday night, Jan. 22) AFFECTING THE FORT AND U.S. FOREST ROADS: Continued severe winter weather affecting the Sierra Vista area has caused Fort Huachuca officials to delay work start until 9 a.m. today, according to post spokesman Maj. Matt Garner.
The late start is for all non-essential military and civilian personnel. All mission-essential military and civilian personnel will report to work as directed by their commander or supervisor, he said.
Additionally, the Fort Huachuca Accommodation Schools will start classes at 9 a.m. as well, Garner added.
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School staff are to be on site at 8 a.m., to support student drop off and school busses will run on a one-hour delay, he said.
The Fort Huachuca Child Care Facilities will open at 8 a.m., Garner said.
Additionally, the Commanders Access Channel 97, or local radio and television stations will provide updated information, the spokesman said.
For more information, call the Fort Huachuca Emergency Information Hot Line at 538-INFO (4636) for updates as conditions may change, he said.
Also, according to federal officials the following roads are either closed or have limited access:
- Carr Canyon is closed to traffic beginning at the U.S. Forest Service entrance at the bottom.
- Traffic going to Montezuma Pass at the Coronado National Memorial is limited to four-wheel drive vehicles.
Sunday night’s and Monday morning’s snowfall canceled work on Fort Huachuca, stopped commercial flights at the Sierra Vista Municipal Airport, closed county offices as well as public schools in Bisbee and the Tombstone district and other facilities in Bisbee and Sierra Vista and caused the late delivery of mail in many areas.
Forecast
A spokesman for the National Weather Service office in Tucson said while snow in much of Southern Arizona was to end 5 p.m. Monday, Cochise County could expect a continuation of snow showers through this morning.
And, the potential for icy road conditions in the county remain high, because the low temperatures Monday night and this morning will be in the 20s, said Tucson NWS spokesman Mike Schaffner.
Even the highs for today probably only will be in the 30s, he added.
There is also a possibility, which Schaffner called slight, that the low front over Cochise County could stall, creating conditions for additional snow.
As for an extended forecast through the weekend, the lows will be below 32 degrees, although daytime temperatures will slowly climb from the 40s to the 50 and possibly into the low 60s by the weekend, Schaffner said.
As for Tucson, Sunday’s and Monday’s snow was the most measured there since 2002, he said.
The amount measured in parts of Cochise County varied with Bisbee having between 8 and 9 inches from the overnight storm, to Tombstone with 6 inches and the Sierra Vista/Fort Huachuca region getting between 2 and 4 inches, Schaffner said.
“With more snow showers hitting in the Sierra Vista area the amount could increase by an inch or two,” he said.
The possibility of rain being part of the mix will make the roads more dangerous, the spokesman said.
And, there is a possibility of fog in low areas, which will impair vision for drivers, he said.
The overall picture is driving will be dangerous.
and extreme care will have to be taken, Schaffner said.
Road closures
One reason the roads are dangerous is because many communities in Arizona do not have salting or sanding equipment, Schaffner said.
Sierra Vista City Manager Chuck Potucek said the city has no snow plows, and if they’re ever need for local streets, he has to call state authorities.
“We do have a bulldozer if we’re in a pinch,” Assistant City Manager Mary Jacobs said.
The Public Works Department does have sand for iced roads, and machines to spread the sand around, Potucek said.
“It has to be pretty bad for the city to shut down because we’re the ones that have to provide the services,” he said.
City staff and meetings kept moving, while non-essential personnel at the fort had the day off Monday.
Fort Huachuca closes
Most people who thought they were going to have a slight delay in reporting for work on Fort Huachuca Monday found out they got the whole day off.
Initially the word was put out the work day was to begin at 10 a.m. and as that time approached, and snow continued to fall, the majority of those who work on post were informed not to show up.
The post’s schools, which also were to start at 10 a.m., were closed for the day, giving students the opportunity to forgo the learning process and to instead engage in making snowmen and throwing snowballs.
Due to lack of equipment to remove snow and ice off of the Libby Army Airfield runways on Monday, the two Great Lakes Airline flights in and out of the Sierra Vista Municipal Airport were canceled.
A spokeswoman for the airline said today’s morning arrival and departure flights are canceled, but the afternoon ones are expected to arrive and depart.
Mail delivery delayed
Sierra Vista Postmaster Myra Ridgway said poor road conditions from Tucson to the city caused mail delivery trucks to arrive later than usual.
Carriers were sent out around 10 a.m. after the mail in the first two trucks were processed, she said.
The mail on the third truck, which arrived around noon, will be delivered today, Ridgway added.
None of the mail received Monday could be taken to the fort’s post office because the post had closed entrance to the installation to all except those who live on the fort or were considered essential employees, she said.
The roads between Tucson and Sierra Vista had a number of accidents and other incidents, Ridgway said, noting she was told by law enforcement officials there had been 52 accidents on the roads between Sierra Vista and Tucson Monday morning.
Bisbee postal officer in charge Pam Campbell-Vinson said her carriers were behind in making deliveries for the same reason the Sierra Vista postmaster outlined by the Sierra Vista postmaster.
Both women said it was going to be around 5 p.m. Monday before home deliveries would be concluded.
SV schools stay open
The only public school system open in the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review readership area Monday was Sierra Vista’s. Assistant Superintendent of Schools Bill Roach said he and the district’s transportation manager investigated the bus routes around 5 a.m. Monday and decided the busses could safely be operated.
While some may think because Monday was the 100-day count, which the state uses to disburse funds, it was not the reasons for having the schools open, he said.
There is a process for districts to seek relief if schools have to close, the assistant superintendent said.
Sierra Vista does not have any snow days built into its schedule, and that means any days schools are closed have to be made up, Roach said.
With an enrollment of approximately 6,800 students, he said “there was a higher number of absences than usual (on Monday).”
This morning he plans to be up by 3 a.m. and once again will review the bus routes with the transportation manager, he said.
Herald/Review reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com. Reporter Gentry Braswell contributed to this report. He can be reached at 515-4680 or by e-mail at gentry.braswell@svherald.com.
Ezai I. Martinez wrote on Jun 24, 2009 7:58 PM: