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Damascus Township Buried Under 30″ of Snow

DAMASCUS TOWNSHIP — Some of the highest snow totals our area saw during the Blizzard of 2017 were in northern Wayne County where about 30 inches fell in o...

DAMASCUS TOWNSHIP -- Some of the highest snow totals our area saw during the Blizzard of 2017 were in northern Wayne County where about 30 inches fell in one day.

Two feet of snow fell in Honesdale Tuesday, and the borough is still in a state of emergency as crews dig out.

Take a ride north, however, and you'll find folks who are up to their eyeballs in snow and the wind isn't helping matters whatsoever.

When you live in the country, you might bargain for lots of snow. A day after the blizzard, however, and one homeowner could only start clearing a path to the roadway.

The Damascus area of Wayne County easily saw more than two feet of snowfall in mere hours. It covers everything in sight including rooftops and vehicles.

"I guess it was 30 inches, something like that," said Jindra Rambousek. "In one day, never saw anything like that in my life."

It's taking days, not hours, to clear the mounds of snow away from Damascus Elementary School. The district will be closed a third day in a row while the region recovers from the historic snowfall.

"It's tough going, you know," said Mark Olver of Dexter Construction. "You have to use a loader to break through. Then we can clean up with the plow trucks."

Plow trucks needed an extra head of steam to reach the tops of snow-covered hills at Rileyville four corners. Shovels did the trick, but only if it meant a small path to the restaurant.

"This blew me away. My son didn't have school for two days already, so this blew me away," said Charles Nero. "I've never seen this much snow in my life."

Once everyone's been dug out of their homes and businesses in northern Wayne County, then the biggest concern is the drifting. Heavy winds are pushing snow back onto the roads that were already clear.

"34 inches of snow fell then some drifting from the winds, nonstop blowing and shoveling," said Doug Turner.

Turner was determined to beat back the snow at his home along Route 191.

Whipping winds will continue to make matters worse and the heavy duty plows will do the best they can, but there is already a lot lost to Mother Nature this time.

"As you can see my rig sits there still buried in snow, not liking it at all, she's not out making money."

Many of the road crews around have been going nonstop since Tuesday morning.

Wayne Highlands School District is closed Thursday and there are plenty of roads and driveways still in need of digging out after the storm.

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