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Resident urges county action after wind-driven snow drifts block County Road 360
Summary
A La Veta-area resident told Huerfano County commissioners that wind-driven drifts repeatedly block County Road 360, leaving elderly residents potentially stranded and asking the county to consider installing snow fences or providing a contact number for plow response during wind events.
During public comment at the Huerfano County Board of Commissioners’ Jan. 28 meeting, resident Jim Hillacre described repeated wind-driven snow drifts blocking County Road 360 near Lover’s Leap and Doosnick’s Place and asked the county for remedial options.
“This is when wind comes across there with no snow,” Hillacre said. “It was probably 4 and a half feet tall. … I have an elderly mother that’s 72. There’s no way that ambulance would have got through that night if she had a heart attack.”
Hillacre said the drift location is just past the lakes near La Veta where the road turns; he said local residents have struggled for years with the same cut across an open field that funnels wind and snow onto the roadway. He suggested either installing a snow fence on both sides of the opening or providing a phone number to call the county for plow response when the issue is caused by wind rather than an active snowstorm.
County staff and commissioners acknowledged the concern and said they would check whether a snow fence had been maintained in that area last year and look into appropriate contact procedures. At one point a commissioner noted there had been a snow fence in place previously and that staff would check maintenance status; staff said they would follow up.
Hillacre said he had called dispatch and county offices the night of the occurrence and was told services were limited; he also said 911 and the sheriff’s office advised the situation did not meet their threshold for immediate emergency clearing. He said trucks arrived and cleared the road the next morning but that immediate nighttime response would have been necessary if an emergency had occurred.
The concern is localized but has clear public-safety implications for residents on that stretch of County Road 360; commissioners instructed staff to investigate maintenance history and possible mitigation options.
