BOISE, Idaho -- Officials in north Idaho's Kootenai County have declared a state of emergency, saying a series of snowstorms has crippled the region's ability to deal with roof collapses, impassible roads, snowed-in senior citizens and other crises.
"The problem is it just keeps coming," Kootenai County Commissioner Rick Currie told The Associated Press shortly after making the emergency declaration this week. "You can only stack the snow so high, and we're running out of places to put it. Our signal lights aren't functioning the way they should. Our lights have been flickering all day. There's a depletion of resources, of manpower, for public and private snow removal."
Across the border in Spokane, Wash., that state's governor, Chris Gregoire, declared a state of emergency Thursday for 15 counties, mostly in snowbound eastern Washington.
"This is certainly the most snow we've had since 1996 or 1997, and if you rank the snowfall from the beginning of the snow season to the present day, you're in the top five to 15 snowfalls -- depending on the region -- of all our records going back to the 1890s," Livingston said.
Snow accumulations in north Idaho have ranged from 4 to 7 feet.
SANDPOINT -- When Idaho National Guard put word out it needed volunteers to help shovel off school roofs in Bonner County, Sgt. Mark Hepinstall immediately put his name on the list.
"I've been deployed to Iraq twice and helped out in the area during 9/11," Hepinstall said. "I've always wanted to come home and help my community."