Ten vehicles stuck on Highway 9 Thursday
By Michael Tidemann - Staff WriterArticle Photos
When Emmet County Sheriff Mike Martens answered an emergency call for stranded motorists on Highway 9 Thursday afternoon, he found that conditions were far worse than he had expected.
Martens said that according to an Iowa Department of Transportation snowplow driver, five vehicles were stuck in the roadway or the ditch just west of Armstrong with another five vehicles stuck between County N52 and Maple Hill.
The first sign that things were bad was a vehicle stuck in the middle of the road near the Estherville airport.
Conditions were so bad, in fact, that Martens and another deputy were able to get only seven miles west of Armstrong in their four-wheel-drive vehicles before they had to turn back when they met the state plow about a mile west of the Dolliver blacktop.
"The conditions were so awful," said Martens. "We couldn't go any further with our SUVs. If it wasn't for those SUVs we would never have made it that far. Even they have their limitations."
Martens and a deputy held traffic back so the DOT operator could plow the roadway.
"It was a very slow trip back to Estherville across the county," Martens said. "I don't understand why the motorists still go out despite the warnings."
Fortunately, Martens said that between the state plow and a wrecker, the vehicles were able to be moved.
Meanwhile, as snow continued to pile up in Estherville, the central business district was closed to parking from 9 p.m. Thursday to 8 a.m. Friday so crews could remove snow.
Area schools called off classes Friday in the aftermath of the eight inches of snow and blizzard conditions.
