Parts of Prince Edward County still digging out after holiday blizzard

PICTON, ONT. -

While the intense winter storm that hammered our region may be gone, some areas are still digging out, like Picton in Prince Edward County.

Massive snowbanks still line parts of Main Street, and as the cleanup continues, Jeff Henden had to make a call for help. 

"I'm glad that guy came with the bulldozer and got it out," he told CTV News "I would have been here for probably two days trying to do it."

While snowbanks of 4 to 5 feet dwarf residents, Henden says his property 20 kilometres away is like a different world.

"It was 130 kilometre winds gusts and my power was out for 40 hours," he said. "(The snow) just seemed to blow away. I could still see the grass when there is three feet of snow here."

Henden said his wood stove kept him warm while he waited out the storm with no power on Christmas Day.

"With the wood stove, I cooked up soup on Christmas Day instead of turkey," he laughed. 

Snowbanks line streets in Picton, Ont. after a severe storm hit the region over the Christmas weekend. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

Prince Edward County Mayor Steve Ferguson says crews have been working through the night to remove the snow, estimating they are about 50 per cent done.

"Picton is the biggest settlement area and we're moving onto Wellington tonight and possibly Bloomfield tonight," he said. "Once they are cleaned up, we'll head up to some of the smaller hamlets and do what we can there as well."

Ferguson says this storm was one of the worst he has ever seen.

"I've been here for 15 years as a permanent resident and I haven't seen anything like this one. There have been other storms but nothing like this one," Ferguson said.

"The OPP closed all the roads. Yes, people were travelling around, it was Christmas I understand that, but the warnings were put out well in advance that the blizzard was coming and we had to deal with people being stranded in their vehicles, as well as abandoned vehicles in the roadways that impeded the progress of the snowplows," he said. 

"There have been other storms but nothing like this one. There were some drifts in the rural areas that were up to 15 or 20 feet."

Environment Canada does not have an observation site in Picton to measure the snowfall totals.

The concern in Picton now is localized flooding, with temperatures expected to rise significantly by the end of the week.

"People do need to be prepared for the amount of water we're going to have as a result of the melt," Ferguson said. "I'm certainly urging people that their sump pumps are operating in the rural areas as well as the residential areas."

He's stressing to residents that patience is key while the cleanup continues.

"We'll be back to a little bit more normal soon," he said. "There's a lot of snow here!"

Massive snowbanks line the street in Picton, Ont. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

While all the roads in the county have reopened, Ferguson thanked the help he received from other regions over the past few days. 

"During the worst of this we did get assistance from the city of Belleville who provided some equipment, as well as other local contractors and we're most appreciative for those that did assist help us clean up," he said. 

"This is one to remember, but one of the great things about Prince Edward County is the way the community gathers and gets together to deal with situations like this," he added. "There have been terrific stories of neighbours helping neighbours and people shovelling and plowing and doing everything else to help the community, and that's most appreciative."

Meanwhile, as Henden finished his shovelling, he joked it could have been much worse.

"I mean, thank God we don't live in Buffalo, right?"