Blizzard Struck Aurora Roads So Intensely That City Made An Emergency Declaration
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - So many cars got stuck on the snowy roads in Aurora during Sunday's blizzard that the city had issued an emergency declaration. The declaration allows the city to tag and tow abandoned vehicles. Aurora's SWAT team brought out their bearcats to rescue drivers who got stuck in all the snow.
PHOTO: These are the folks that our SWAT Team rescued out on 64th Ave and Piccadilly in northeast Aurora. They are warming up in the back of our BEAR and on their way to shelter. #WinterStormXylia #StayHomeAurora pic.twitter.com/DRPrD7bZ1J
— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) March 14, 2021
Motorists in southeast Aurora seemed to be used to the blizzard conditions that hit the area Sunday.
"Man it's Colorado weather you know!" said one motorist.
Even by Colorado standards, this was extreme. The E-470 corridor looked like a parking lot. Cars were stuck on off-ramps and on Quincy Road and Smoky Hill Road.
The same motorist that seemed to embrace the state's propensity for snow also ran into a little bit of trouble because of it. He said, "My car is completely stuck and um, as you can see I'm not ready."
He abandoned his vehicle in the middle of Smoky Hill Road after snow drifts froze him in his tracks. He had this advice for his fellow motorists; "Stay in. If you don't have to come out don't come out."
ATVs seemed to have little problem navigating the feet of snow, but otherwise Mother Nature showed no mercy. SUVs, trucks and even a plow had trouble getting through the snow.
Daniel wasn't planning on being hero but desperate times called for desperate measures.
"I was actually going to go to the store but I saw a lot of people on the side. I figured I'd help them out," he says.
Waist-high snow buried a main thoroughfare. Daniel, who lives in the area, said he thinks the road was unpassable.
"We're standing on Smoky Hill, this is westbound… it's toast," he says.
It seemed lots of people thought they could handle the tough driving conditions before they headed out. Lots of cars were slowly navigating the snow-packed road, but ask someone who was bested by the weather and they will tell you, you don't want to be in his position.
"It's no fun," he said as he jumped into a pickup truck that arrived to take him home.