-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Fort Dodge firefighters confer after extinguishing a blaze in a third floor apartment at 1035 First Ave. S. early Wednesday morning. A man found dead in front of the building is believed to have fallen out of a window of the burning apartment.

The second blizzard to hit Iowa this month left downed trees, toppled semi-trailers, and vast power outages in its wake.

“This was another dangerous situation,” said Webster County Emergency Management Director Dylan Hagen.

Hagen spent much of the late afternoon in the county’s side-by-side checking on stranded motorists, some of which were running low on fuel. He estimated at 5:30 P.M. that between 30-40 vehicles were currently in ditches throughout Webster County.

“If you don’t need to be out, don’t be part of the problem,” said Hagen.

According to Fort Dodge Police Chief Dennis Quinn, officers responded to 51 calls for service between 10 A.M. and 5:30 P.M. A bulk of those calls, he said, were for motorist assists, accidents and welfare checks due to the blizzard.

“The City snow plows were doing a great job,” said Quinn. “But it is a nearly impossible battle to win. Even with the terrible conditions, there were still quite a few motorists out on the city streets. This led to quite a few vehicles getting stuck in the snow.”

City snowplows continued throughout the late evening working to keep emergency routes open. According to City Communications Director Amanda Holmes, plows were anticipated to be out throughout the night Wednesday.

“The parking prohibition will remain in effect for 24 hours,” said Holmes. “Vehicles parked along these routes will be towed. We will get into residential areas when we are able to. The focus right now is keeping those emergency routes open.”

Emergency snow routes are being enforced in City limits. Vehicles along these routes should be moved off the street as soon as possible.

“Don’t wait until your car is more buried than it is now. Your vehicle will be towed,” the City said on their Facebook page.

According to Webster County Chief Deputy Derek Christie, deputies responded to more than 50 vehicles in ditches, including semi trucks, by mid-day Wednesday.

“The biggest challenge we have during these weather events is locating and checking on stranded motorists without getting stuck ourselves,” said Christie.

The Iowa State Patrol also responded to several calls of semi-trailers that had blown over in the county.

Throughout the day Wednesday, Highway 20 was blocked in Calhoun, Webster, and Hamilton Counties with deputies and troopers responding to multi-vehicle crashes and toppled semi-trailers.

“Please stay home,” said Hagen.

Wind gusts exceeding 50 miles per hour made visibility in the storm impossible and also downed trees and power lines leading to power outages throughout the area.

The Webster County Courthouse and Law Enforcement Center both lost power Wednesday morning for a brief period and ran on generator power. According to Christie, there were no interruptions in inmate security or 911 lines during the transition to the generator.

More than 6,000 MidAmerican Energy customers in the Fort Dodge area were still without power Wednesday afternoon. Hundreds of Midland Power customers in Webster, Humboldt, Kossuth, and Greene counties were also without power late Wednesday.

“If you don’t need to be out, stay home,” said Hagen. “Make sure that snow is not drifted up and into your home’s exhaust pipe. Call and check on your neighbors and relatives to make sure that they’re okay. The worst of the storm is forecast to pass by 7 P.M., but it will take awhile to get the roads cleared. Give us some time to get the roads plowed and ensure that it’s safe to be out and about.”