S’no Fun In Prince George’s


The snow has put our lives on hold, here are a few of the stories of what is going on right now in our county.

Prince George’s County Government has finally been snowed under. They have closed today for the first time this week.

The Prince George’s County government closed Wednesday–its first time doing so since the dawn of Snowpocalypse–in light of the merciless pounding the weather has dealt the region.

The announcement, made early Wednesday morning, said, “This decision was made due to the record snow events that have hit the region over the past six days, producing more than 40 inches of snow across the region.”

However, public safety employees and those plowing the roads will still be working, said county spokesman John Erzen.

Not surprisingly snow related accidents are on the rise. Officials are concerned for citizens’ safety as roofs give in under the weight of snow.

Fire officials are warning homeowners not to climb on rooftops to clear the snow that began accumulating last weekend.

“We think that would be a design for disaster,” D.C. Fire Chief Dennis L. Rubin told reporters. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) urged residents to “stay with relatives” if they are worried their roofs are in danger of collapsing.

The warnings came as another storm pushed in and an increasing number of area jurisdictions reported various types of roofs buckling, bending and collapsing.

On Tuesday, the roof of a 100-foot-long garage in Upper Marlboro collapsed, injuring a man who was on a ladder trying to clear it of snow. Hours later, a roof collapsed on three stores in a small strip mall in the Largo area of Prince George’s County. No injuries were reported.

Prince George’s County health officials give us a good excuse to put off  shoveling our snow.

Sure, there are plenty of petty annoyances associated with the snow–the slushy pant legs, the buried cars, the closed corner stores. But the latest announcement from the Prince George’s County Health Department suggests shoveling could actually mean risking your life.

Prince George’s County Health officials just sent out a notice warning of the “hidden dangers” of snow shoveling.

“Prince George’s County Health Department wants residents to be aware that strenuous task such as shoveling snow coupled with extreme weather conditions increases your risk of heart attacks,” the release stated.

“The risk of a heart attack during shoveling snow increases for middle-aged or older individuals, individuals with a sedentary lifestyle and individuals diagnosed with heart condition,” county health chief Donald Shell said in a statement.

1356 customers are left without power in Prince George’s County, but the high winds has made it to unsafe for Pepco’s  crews to continue working.

10:06 a.m. No longer safe for Pepco crews
About 9 a.m. Wednesday, Pepco pulled back its crews working to repair downed power lines and other electric equipment, saying conditions were too unsafe for them to continue working.

Repairmen were told to “take shelter inside their trucks until the storm abates and conditions are deemed safe for them to work,” said Robert Dobkin, a Pepco spokesman. He said it was unclear when conditions would improve enough for crews to return to work.

As of about 9:50 a.m., Pepco had more than 3,500 customers without power, including 2205 in Montgomery County, 1356 in Prince George’s County and 182 in the District.



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