South Haven works to dig out from winter blast

SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – A recent winter storm hit South Haven hard, the city is still working to dig out and the snow is still falling.

So much snow has fallen on the City of South Haven that they've run out of places to put the snow as it is cleared. Now, there is a massive effort underway to move the huge piles of snow so downtown can get back to business.

The work started before dawn on Tuesday, with dozens of plows, backhoes and Bobcats working to clear the streets of South Haven.

"Pretty much the downtown area was a disaster because we didn't have anywhere to put the snow," said South Haven's operations manager Ron Dotson.

That's where Ricky Copeland and the streets department of South Haven came in. One load at a time, Copeland and his crew took the massive piles of snow out of downtown South Haven so the plows could clear the roads.

"We got a big field there, and we'll be stockpiling it and hope we got enough room," said Dotson.

As the sun came up on Tuesday, the work continued. Crews say it has been a long time since the city has seen this much snow.

"I've been here 32 years," said Dotson, "and I'm looking back in about the '80s somewhere, about '82 or '83, we got beat up pretty good."

For those stuck clearing up the snow without heavy machinery, the task was daunting.

"It's too much, it's too much for me," said one resident.

Road crews didn't get to the side streets until late Tuesday afternoon, and even the main roads remain fairly sloppy as waves of snow and freezing rain continued to move through.

Officials told Newschannel 3 that it could be another two or three days before all the roads would be cleared.