Weather dictates much of the news in this area (or…..most of Montana). Drifting snow and fierce wind play roles during this week’s report. A snow storm often isn’t the main problem, its the drifting that happens a few days afterward. And the wind – the WIND! It’s a four letter word that holds a strong presence in this region. Highway I-90 closes multiple times a year due to wind. I drove by a semi that had blown over – and it hadn’t just plunked down beside the road. It had sailed a good 10 or 15 feet, and the driver was literally walking on the side of the cargo load.
Big Timber Pioneer 1/5/17 “On the Record”
12/25 – A driver reported a large drift near the sixth mile marker on Maine Boulder Rd. Dispatch notified the Montana Dept. of Transportation, which reported they would clear the drift as soon as they could.
12/30 –A caller on Bramble Street reported they were concerned for their neighbors, whose door had been open for a few hours. No lights were on in the home, they said. A deputy responded to the location and reported everything was fine – they had a new door knob and the wind possibly blew the door open.
12/31 – A driver reported the wind was blowing them around on 1-90 near mile marker 369 and requested an escort to town. A reserve deputy escorted the driver to town.
Hey tell about having to climb under your house in the dead of winter to close the little door in order to keep your water from freezing! And the vermin that open it, and what you’ve rigged up to track the temp down there. I could see that having been a report to the sheriff when it first happened, had it not been YOU and your determination and resourcefulness.