Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Damage From Snowstorm Over $5 Million

Damage from the recent snowstorm left more than $5 million in damage to properties in Nevada County.

According to Jim Cross, Nevada County Office of Emergency Services Coordinator, a total of 38 chicken houses were destroyed because of the snow, as were 49 other structures.

These structures, he said, include barns, metal buildings and awnings.

The chicken houses, Cross continued, cost about $120,000 each to replace and many growers won't be rebuilding.

What's bad about this, he said, is those who don't rebuild their chicken houses will have to pay income tax on the ones destroyed.

Cross had no idea how many chickens were killed because of the storm. "A lot of the houses were empty at the time," he said.

The roof at McRae Middle School was damaged by the snow, as was the roof of the Nevada County Courthouse. Cross is waiting for estimates on what it will cost to repair these roofs before he has an accurate tally of the damage.

Nevada County Judge James Roy Brown said there were no problems with the county's roads and bridges because of the snow. Few places were damaged, he added.

"I'm surprised it wasn't worse than it was. We bladed all we could in the time we had and tried to get the heavier traveled area cleared first," he said.

Brown said the county road crew managed to get about two-thirds of the roads cleared before the snow started melting and the roads got sloppy.

Cross said the county is trying to get a federal declaration of disaster, so those affected can get financial help for their losses.