Published on: Thursday, February 11, 2010

By Nancy Royden

Gov. Martin O’Malley said thanks Thursday afternoon at the Maryland Emergency Management Agency’s statewide emergency operations center in Reisterstown to those who worked hard to clear snow from roads and those who responded to people’s calls for help during what has been dubbed, “Snowmageddon.”

Altogether, the two storms within the last week dumped 50 inches of snow in some parts of the state, according to a media release from the governor’s office.

“For nearly one solid week, thousands of men and women in Maryland stepped forward to help their fellow citizens get through this historic weather event,” O’Malley said. “Road crews worked with very little sleep to continuously plow our roads in conditions they had never seen before. Emergency responders and the Maryland National Guard braved deep snow and blizzard conditions to rescue stranded motorists, deliver supplies and get those in need of medical care to area hospitals.”

O’Malley said the state’s residents “were blessed that huge, gusting winds did not come to pass” as anticipated by some people, but regardless, thousands of people remained without power.

The governor said crews have been working diligently to rid the roads of snow and ice.

“Our crews have been working throughout the night. Overall, the crews made good progress overnight,” he said. “We were actually able to make a lot of headway on the highways.”

He commended them for their dedication and said they have done an “outstanding” job.

“No matter how things got, they never gave up. These are the true heroes of the ‘Blizzard of 2010’ and Maryland is very proud of each and every one of them,” he said.

O’Malley said that even if things look better on the roads, there are still some very dangerous portions.

“It’s still very treacherous out there,” he said.

In some cases, pedestrians are causing problems because snowplowing equipment cannot easily move through areas, he said.

Crews are now working to remove snow from exit ramps and county employees are working on arterial roads. Some roads still have snow in one lane or more, so the governor cautioned people to remain vigilant while driving.

O’Malley said for the next several days, “the big dig out” will continue.

“Be careful and take it slow,” he said.

The snow that is piled up in parking lots, on sides of streets and in yards is going to take a long time to completely handle.

“Despite the tireless work of road crews and the best efforts of local elected officials to manage snow removal efforts, citizens need to appreciate the magnitude of this storm and how challenging it will be to remove this much snow,” O’Malley said. “This is not your basic Maryland snowfall of five to seven inches followed by a return to bare pavement in less than 24 hours. This will take time, both at the state and local level.”

In Prince George’s County, County Executive Jack B. Johnson announced Thursday afternoon that stranded vehicles or those parked illegally on county-maintained roads will be ticketed and towed. This immediately took effect.

“It is imperative that we all work together to recover from this record-breaking storm,” he said. “It is important that residents move their cars off streets into driveways or other off-street parking. If you cannot do that, please move your car to the even numbered side of the street so plows can get through your roads.”

Susan Hubbard, public information officer for the Prince George’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation, said citizens are cautioned not to threaten snowplow drivers. Police officers will be called to any applicable area to surmise situations.

“As of 11 a.m. today, nearly all the primary roads in the county are passable and crews are working quickly to make all secondary roads passable. Once all primary and secondary roads are passable, crews will begin to move into residential streets,” she said.

Johnson asked residents to remain patient and plows will be in all residential areas within the next one to two days.