Submitted
MARLBORO COUNTY – Last week’s winter storm Fern rolled over the nation dumping ice on the Palmetto State. The winter storm is confirmed to have claimed 50 lives across the U.S.
In Marlboro County, Fern caused minor damage to ice laden trees and power lines.
The South Carolina Department of Transportation [SCDOT] announced their top priorities during the storm would be keeping roads and bridges safe and open to support first responders and critical travel needs in the state. Prior to the storm, SCDOT officials said 60,000 tons of salt was on standby along with 1,200 pieces of equipment spread statewide. Officials also said they had brine and calcium chloride to treat roadways.
Fern crept into Marlboro County late Saturday afternoon, starting off by spitting wet snowflakes and sleeting across pre-salted roadways.
Thanks to efforts made by local maintenance crews working throughout the day and night ahead of the storm to keep roads salted, the worst elements of Fern were mitigated for Marlboro County.
In preparation of the storm, the city of Bennettsville collected donations of blankets, socks, and gloves for residents in need, as well as opened a “county-wide” warming shelter for those without heat in the city’s Community Center.
Many businesses and stores across the county remained opened or extended their store hours ahead of the storm in order to meet the needs of their customers.
Officials stated that most county residents maintained power, and those who experienced outages had their electricity restored quickly. Locations without power were primarily concentrated in the Lakeside area. The Bennettsville Fire Department reported that at one point power was temporarily shut off to the Lakeside area while a frozen transformer was being repaired.
The Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office worked tirelessly throughout the storm to keep residents informed of dangerous areas on roadways and aided motorists in need.
Police departments, first responders, and fire departments across the county also stood at the ready to answer residents’ calls for help and to provide inter- agency assistance as needed.
In conjunction with Marlboro County’s first responders, medical staff continued to provide top notch care for their patients in medical facilities across the county and state.
Due to the continued threat of icy roads, the Marlboro County School District made Monday an eLearning Day for students, though resumed a normal schedule Tuesday.
South Carolina is once again forecasted to experience winter weather this coming weekend and residents are expressing their gratitude for the hard work and dedication of all Marlboro County’s first responders, medical health professionals, and officials for continuously keeping residents safe- no matter the weather.
While snow totals for this coming weekend are still being forecasted, it remains obvious Old Man Winter is just getting started!