Snow plowed road in Gibson District in Fort Hall.
By DANA HERNANDEZ
Sho-Ban News
FORT HALL — Since the snow weather season is here in Fort Hall, and with multiple school closures in our area and outside areas, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Department of Transportation would like to remind all local community members and people traveling through Fort Hall to be aware of weather forecasts and to be prepared in case of an emergency.
The Department of Transportation follows their snow removal procedure, which consists of prioritizing bus routes for the children who need to get to and from school. Also, the main roads and people who are on their medical list are another top priority.
According the Department of Transportation’s snow removal procedure, when there is heavy falling snow or wind-blown snow they will wait out the major part of the storm before continuing with snow removal. This is due to saving resources and time because the wind and snow will cover any sand and plowing they attempt to do during heavy snow storms.
The Transportation Department has an early crew that gets to inspecting the roads as early as 4 or 5 a.m.
Pete Broncho, who is the director of the Transportation Department says, “If the weather is bad then stay home and if you live out in the fields then give us time to get to you.”
Broncho suggests people stay home and wait out the snow storms, because they are not in charge of saving and pulling out a stuck vehicle. Stuck vehicles are a hazard and block the plowing and sanding trucks that need to get through. Broncho suggest people use their best judgement, “People should know their homes, roads, and vehicles.”
He also suggests everyone should be prepared in case of an emergency. Vehicles should have a full tank of gas, people should have warm clothes, blanket, gloves, water, snacks, and a small shovel, just in case they get stuck.
“If someone does happen to get stuck, then they should also be aware of keeping their exhaust clear because of carbon monoxide poisoning,” says Broncho.
William Trahant, Director of the Tribal Office of Emergency Management, says their department works with the Transportation Department when they do shutdowns. Early in the morning they assess roads and weather forecasts regarding Tribal closures.
Broncho says, “If I can make it, then they can make it.” A tribal snow day does not include the Indian Health Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Tribal Enterprises and the casino.
Trahant says, these other services and departments follow their own procedures for a snow weather closure, but usually some of them follow suite after the Tribes have called it. For the tribes to call a snow weather closure, they are entirely dependent on the weather forecast. If it storms and continues to storm, then they will call it.
There are many departments that collaborate during snow storms, there is also Public Works and the Fort Hall Police Department that inspect roads. The Transportation Department uses a GPS system to track all their plow and sand trucks that are out in the field. They also use a surveillance system that captures the different districts and their area roads where they monitor the snow during the winter and fires during the summer. There is also a snow committee that works to implement and assess snow weather situations.
Overall, Broncho says, “If the weather is blowing and there are drifts there is not much we can do until the storm passes.”