Plow crews throughout western Washington are bracing for another round of snow.
Many of them have been working around the clock in 12-hour shifts to clear roads since the snowstorm that hit the region last weekend.
“It's going as well as we expect. Yes, they're tired, but this is their profession, and this is what they love to do, so they're out hustling all day,” said Glenn Akramoff, interim grounds and streets manager for the City of Kirkland.
Kirkland has 10 trucks clearing roads, he said.
Bellevue crews began pre-treating roads on Christmas Eve and have been working around the clock since.
“We have 15 plows that are dedicated to our roadways and then another two plows that focus on fire stations, the hospital, and other city facilities that are open,” said Chris Long, assistant director of mobility operations.
They've been able to start hitting side streets and neighborhoods the past few days, but will likely have to redirect to main roads starting Thursday, Long said.
The City of Auburn has five plow and deicing trucks running nonstop. The next few days could be difficult.
“We have some major hills that we prioritize first, those are always the most dangerous and the most challenging,” said city spokesperson Dana Hinman.
Many cities, like Bellevue, are looking forward to a break this weekend.
“We're hoping that by Saturday we can start reducing the number of staff we have on site and maybe even end the event by Saturday night if the temperatures rise the way we expect,” Long said.
“We think Saturday night will probably be our last shift, maybe Sunday, we’ll see. It’s weather dependent, we are planned to go until it ends,” Akramoff said.