Main roads better but ice, snow remain on some York County streets

Although the storm stopped Saturday and main roads became passable as the day wore on, many York County streets are still covered with ice and snow, police said Saturday.

Friday weather caused several poles holding up safety nets at Spring Lake County Club west of York on S.C. 5 to snap. The netting was covered with ice and was so heavy the poles snapped, said Meghan Green, whose father owns the course.

Neighbors with a cherry-picker truck, volunteers, law enforcement and other responders moved the poles from the main road.

“So many nice people helped,” Green said.

Despite brutal road conditions Friday and Saturday morning, no fatalities were reported among the crashes around York, Chester, and Lancaster counties.

Fire departments in Rock Hill and York County extinguished two house fires during the storm and dealt with a broken water main.

No one was hurt in a house fire Saturday at 1177 Cherokee Ave. in Rock Hill, said Mark Simmons, deputy chief for the Rock Hill Fire Department. Around 2:15 a.m. Saturday, firefighters found one side of a duplex on fire, according to a report.

All occupants got out safely, the report said. Damage to the building was estimated at $10,000 with $5,000 damage to the contents of the duplex, fire officials said. A cause of the fire has not yet been released.

The fire was in the Rock Hill Homes neighborhood west of North Cherry Road. About a block from the fire a water main ruptured Saturday morning near the intersection of Amelia Avenue and Oconee Avenue, shooting water into the air.

City spokeswoman Katie Quinn said a resident notified city officials of the water main break. A few customers were temporarily without water service, Quinn said.

Another house fire was reported Saturday in the Bethesda community south of Rock Hill, on Joseph Court. No one was injured, Bethesda firefighters said. Two of the responding fire trucks were involved in a minor accident getting to the scene because of the icy conditions, but the damage to the vehicles was minimal and no firefighters were hurt, said Billy Weatherford, York County Fire Safety Director.

The fire remains under investigation by the York County Fire Marshal’s Office.

Sunday is expected to be sunny with temperatures reaching 44 degrees, with temperatures into the 50s on Monday. Road conditions were expected to improve with warmer temperatures. However, South Carolina Department of Transportation officials advised Saturday afternoon that many rural bridges and roads were still covered with snow and ice.

Refreezing after dark Saturday into Sunday morning could cause dangerous black ice on roads, transportation officials said.

Mail service, stopped Friday, resumed Saturday. Although traffic picked up Saturday throughout the day on main roads as ice and snow melted and S.C Department of Transportation crews plowed and spread de-icing agents, many side streets and roads that get little traffic or direct sunlight remained covered in both ice and snow.

Temperatures in the 20s, coupled with the snow and freezing rain changing to ice, results in dangerous streets, said Lance Cpl. Gary Miller of the S.C. Highway Patrol.

“As soon as drivers pack that snow down, it freezes, becoming a sheet of ice that hasn’t had a chance to melt,” Miller said. “People may see that the storm has stopped, but that doesn’t mean the roads are clear.”

Police are asking people to stay off the roads as much as possible so plows and other equipment can clear main highways and primary roads. Troopers in York, Chester and Lancaster counties Saturday afternoon had no wrecks to report on county roads.

Many businesses, aside from a few restaurants and gas stations, were closed Saturday morning along U.S. 21 and Cherry Road until the weather and road conditions improved. Rock Hill Pawn Shop was open by 8 a.m. as Dewey Parker cleared the parking lot with a backhoe.

People who normally get paychecks on Fridays, yet were not working Friday because businesses were closed for the storm, needed extra cash for basic supplies, said Doug Mason, owner of the pawn shop.

“We always try to be here for our customers – on days like Friday and today, they will need money to make it through the weekend,” Mason said. “All day Friday we stayed busy because we were about the only place open.”

This story was originally published January 23, 2016 at 9:29 AM with the headline "Main roads better but ice, snow remain on some York County streets."