| Columbia County Sheriff's Office |
David W. Harrison, Jr., SHERIFF James R. Sweet, UNDERSHERIFF
| Copyright ©2006 Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Hudson, NY 12534 |
2008 ICE STORM "HAMMERS" COLUMBIA COUNTY
Columbia County Board of Supervisors
401 State Street
Hudson, NY 12534
(518) 828-1527
Fax (518) 822-0684
Arthur Baer - Chairman
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 12, 2008
HUDSON – Full recovery from Thursday night’s devastating ice storm will take multiple days, according to
Columbia County Board of Supervisors Chairman Art Baer, who said downed power lines and trees have left
thousands of residents in the dark and cold, and local roads impassable.
Emergency shelters have been established at the Ichabod Crane High School in Valatie and the Hudson Middle
School on Harry Howard Avenue in Hudson. Claverack, Philmont, Mellenville, Stuyvesant and Pine Plains fire
houses are open to residents, as is the Stuyvesant and Livingston Town Halls. The Germantown Town Hall is
open as a warming station for the evening.
For directions to emergency shelters or assistance with transportation, residents are encouraged to call the
Columbia County Emergency Operations Center at 828-1212.
The shelters will provide a warm place for residents to spend the night, as well as offer them meals. Residents,
however, are advised that the emergency facilities cannot accept pets.
Several area nursing homes, including Wittier and the Pine Haven, have offered to accommodate residents with
special health needs and the Firemen’s Home is making available handicapped accessible buses to transport the
disabled.
A State of Emergency was declared for Columbia County early Friday morning, followed by a Local Emergency
Order that prohibits all non-emergency travel on roads within a dozen towns. The local ban impacts travel in the
towns of Stuyvesant, Stockport, Greenport, Germantown, Clermont, Livingston, Gallatin, Taghkanic, Claverack,
Ghent, Kinderhook, and Chatham. Travel in other communities is limited to necessary travel.
“We were hammered,” said Baer, who spent the day at the county’s Emergency Operations Center in Greenport,
coordinating recovery efforts with county and state highway department officials, police agencies, fire and
emergency rescue officials, the Red Cross, and various other county agencies.
An estimated 20,000 customers still were without electrical service at sunset Friday, with some towns dealing with
more than 50-percent road closure, including Ghent and Taghkanic (all or nearly all impassable), Gallatin,
Kinderhook, Chatham, Claverack, Hillsdale, Stuyvesant and Copake.
Power outages were reported at Columbia Memorial Hospital and local long-term care health facilities, which were
operating on emergency generators, as was the Emergency Operations Center. The Columbia County Airport was
closed.
“Fortunately we did not have any loss of life or serious accidents,” the chairman said.
‘Our biggest concern was the downed power lines and the danger these fallen wires posed to homeowners,
motorists and our highway and emergency crews,” Baer said. “It’s particularly dangerous when workmen are
dealing with chainsaws on ice and in the dark.”
The State Department of Transportation has closed the Taconic State Parkway from the Dutchess County line to
Route 23 in Claverack and reports many other state highways impassable. The same was reported by the County
Highway Department, which hopes to have its highway system cleared by Saturday afternoon.
County and local highway crews will be helped by additional crews from the state DOT and from the Greene
County Highway Department.
The emergency center issued a number of safety tips for residents coping with the storm damage, including:
• Do not leave lighted candles unattended;
• Do not use gasoline powered generators indoors;
• Do not use barbeque grills indoors;
• Portable electric generators must be used with caution to avoid electrical hazards;
• Treat all downed wires as energized;
The state of emergency and travel ban will remain in effect until further notice, Baer said.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Art Baer, (518) 755-7684
Columbia County Board of Supervisors
401 State Street
Hudson, NY 12534
(518) 828-1527
Fax (518) 822-0684
Arthur Baer - Chairman
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 12, 2008
HUDSON – Full recovery from Thursday night’s devastating ice storm will take multiple days, according to
Columbia County Board of Supervisors Chairman Art Baer, who said downed power lines and trees have left
thousands of residents in the dark and cold, and local roads impassable.
Emergency shelters have been established at the Ichabod Crane High School in Valatie and the Hudson Middle
School on Harry Howard Avenue in Hudson. Claverack, Philmont, Mellenville, Stuyvesant and Pine Plains fire
houses are open to residents, as is the Stuyvesant and Livingston Town Halls. The Germantown Town Hall is
open as a warming station for the evening.
For directions to emergency shelters or assistance with transportation, residents are encouraged to call the
Columbia County Emergency Operations Center at 828-1212.
The shelters will provide a warm place for residents to spend the night, as well as offer them meals. Residents,
however, are advised that the emergency facilities cannot accept pets.
Several area nursing homes, including Wittier and the Pine Haven, have offered to accommodate residents with
special health needs and the Firemen’s Home is making available handicapped accessible buses to transport the
disabled.
A State of Emergency was declared for Columbia County early Friday morning, followed by a Local Emergency
Order that prohibits all non-emergency travel on roads within a dozen towns. The local ban impacts travel in the
towns of Stuyvesant, Stockport, Greenport, Germantown, Clermont, Livingston, Gallatin, Taghkanic, Claverack,
Ghent, Kinderhook, and Chatham. Travel in other communities is limited to necessary travel.
“We were hammered,” said Baer, who spent the day at the county’s Emergency Operations Center in Greenport,
coordinating recovery efforts with county and state highway department officials, police agencies, fire and
emergency rescue officials, the Red Cross, and various other county agencies.
An estimated 20,000 customers still were without electrical service at sunset Friday, with some towns dealing with
more than 50-percent road closure, including Ghent and Taghkanic (all or nearly all impassable), Gallatin,
Kinderhook, Chatham, Claverack, Hillsdale, Stuyvesant and Copake.
Power outages were reported at Columbia Memorial Hospital and local long-term care health facilities, which were
operating on emergency generators, as was the Emergency Operations Center. The Columbia County Airport was
closed.
“Fortunately we did not have any loss of life or serious accidents,” the chairman said.
‘Our biggest concern was the downed power lines and the danger these fallen wires posed to homeowners,
motorists and our highway and emergency crews,” Baer said. “It’s particularly dangerous when workmen are
dealing with chainsaws on ice and in the dark.”
The State Department of Transportation has closed the Taconic State Parkway from the Dutchess County line to
Route 23 in Claverack and reports many other state highways impassable. The same was reported by the County
Highway Department, which hopes to have its highway system cleared by Saturday afternoon.
County and local highway crews will be helped by additional crews from the state DOT and from the Greene
County Highway Department.
The emergency center issued a number of safety tips for residents coping with the storm damage, including:
• Do not leave lighted candles unattended;
• Do not use gasoline powered generators indoors;
• Do not use barbeque grills indoors;
• Portable electric generators must be used with caution to avoid electrical hazards;
• Treat all downed wires as energized;
The state of emergency and travel ban will remain in effect until further notice, Baer said.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Art Baer, (518) 755-7684