Portions of Brockport and all of Orleans County weathers snow storm

Some western New York communities were hard hit by a snow storm on Friday, October 13. Wet snow accumulating on tree limbs still heavy with leaves caused downed branches and damage to electric lines. Residents in Brockport, Holley, Albion and further west were without power. Buffalo was hardest hit with two feet of snow and some areas experiencing power outages for more than a week. Photograph from Brockport by Rick Nicholson.

Portions of Brockport and all of Orleans County weathers
snow storm
Friday the 13th
snowfall surprises many

Close to 80 percent of all households in the Orleans County area were without electricity and heat - many for up to three days - during the freak snowstorm that hit the area on Friday, October 13.

Close to 30 inches of snow was recorded at the Buffalo Airport and it was coming down at a rate of two to four inches per hour, The Weather Channel reported. In the readership area, the snow fall might not have totaled 30 inches but the weight of the snow on the leaf laden branches caused the branches to snap, many of them taking power lines with them.

John Kenney, mayor of the Village of Holley, said that while his village was hit, it didn't suffer as long or as much damage as areas west. "As soon as a state of emergency was announced we had crews out there performing preventative maintenance - cutting down tree branches and clearing them away from the wires," he said.

The fire department and DPW responded to between 200 and 300 calls, Kenney said. "We have noticeable tree damage and still have a lot of brush that we are in the process of cleaning up, but we are getting it taken care of," he said.

Kenney said that because the village has its own electric, it was up and running as soon as National Grid addressed its power line issues. "We were back up and running and at almost full power by the end of the day on Friday," he said. "Our crews did a fantastic job keeping us in business."

In the Village of Albion, the fire department responded to 175 incidents of fallen trees and downed power lines between 9 p.m. Thursday and 1 p.m. Friday.

Four streets in the Village of Brockport were affected by the storm - Barry, Victory, Keable and Evelyn were without power from Thursday until early Monday evening on October 16. Fire Chief Laurence Vaughan said there was only one report of a house being damaged by a falling tree but there were a couple incidents of individuals being in harm's way when they improperly refueled gas generators. "We had one instance where the generator ran out of fuel, the homeowner was attempting to refill it by using an old metal gas can. The funnel fell off the can and gas spilled onto the hot generator. It caused an 'impressive' short blast of flames and caused some scorching to the home," he said.

The BFD worked closely with the Holley Fire Department and loaned them an ambulance, communications equipment and cots as well as helping with fill-in manpower on Saturday.

Orleans County has long recovery
As of October 17, the American Red Cross in Orleans County was operating its fifth day of assisting those affected by the snow storm, opening three shelters on Friday, October 13, 2006. On Saturday, October 14, the three shelters in Holley, Medina and Albion were combined into one central shelter in Albion were the largest client population existed and made a central point for all residents in the Orleans County area.

The American Red Cross in Orleans County reported they sheltered 328 disaster clients; served 852 meals, provided 984 snacks, offered mobile (Find and Feed) to 170 and offered 100 dinners to municipality.

A food site operated at the Albion American Legion where breakfast, lunch and dinner were served. A mobile unit provided soup and sandwiches to those in the most affected and rural areas.