Nearly 700 residents joined a special emergency meeting to hear updates from Prince George’s County and state officials on the ongoing response to Winter Storm Fern, which dumped more than 10 inches of snow, sleet and freezing rain across the region over the weekend.
The meeting was led by a coalition of elected leaders and state officials, including Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy and the county’s Senate delegation, led by Sen. Nick Charles (D-Dist. 25).
Residents packed the Zoom call at 5 p.m. Tuesday seeking answers about slow storm response times, why certain streets and roadways had not been adequately cleared, and how essential workers were expected to leave their driveways to report to work.
“There’s confusion and frustration about what ‘plowed’ actually means — whether the truck just goes down the middle once or clears both sides,” said Adrian Jones of Upper Marlboro. “The plow walls off driveways with ice, and that becomes a serious problem, especially with temperatures this low.”
Romaine Wilkens said roadways in the Village of Oak Grove community in Upper Marlboro are a “sheet of ice.”
“The plow came through before it even started snowing and hasn’t come back — yet nearby streets have been serviced,” Wilkens said. “A nurse who lives two doors down can’t even get out to go to work.”
Braveboy told residents that the nature of the storm complicated response efforts and highlighted the immediate and ongoing work of the county’s Department of Public Works and Transportation.
“This was a very tricky and difficult storm — not just snowfall, but ice, freezing rain, and temperatures that stayed below freezing and into the single digits,” Braveboy said. “Our primary and secondary roads are completely done. Now we are in the neighborhoods, and we may have to hit them a few times because this ice is extremely tough to get up.”
County officials said crews have been working 12-hour rotating shifts since the storm began and have pulled in additional support from municipalities such as Hyattsville.
“We have made our primary and secondary roads 100% passable and are about 75% passable on residential streets,” said Mike Johnson, director of the county’s Department of Public Works and Transportation. “Plows can push snow, but they can’t push ice — that’s why we’ve brought in loaders, backhoes, and skid steers to break it up.”
Utility providers Pepco and WSSC said their systems remain stable but warned that continued freezing temperatures and the possibility of additional snow this weekend could strain operations.
“Despite significant snow and ice on our system, fewer than 200 customers lost power [during the storm], and all were restored in less than four hours,” said William Ellis, director of external affairs at Pepco. “We mobilized over 1,000 employees working 24/7 to make sure people had heat and power and didn’t need to be displaced.”
Representatives from WSSC cautioned that risks remain.
“The emergency for us really starts now, with these extreme cold temperatures,” said Dave McDonough, deputy general manager of mission support for WSSC. “We are asking customers to use water for essential purposes only so we can preserve the system and avoid a boil-water advisory.”
A representative from the Maryland Department of Transportation said the State Highway Administration deployed 380 trucks for snow removal in Prince George’s County since noon Saturday. Crews are now clearing shoulders and intersections before focusing on major roadways, including U.S. Route 1 and Maryland routes 301, 202, 210 and 214.