BRIDGETON — The three winter storms that have pounded southern New Jersey since mid-December set unprecedented snow accumulations in Cumberland County with totals over the 40-inch mark. That was before yesterday’s snow shower (relatively speaking).

And springtime is still a month away.

The county’s Department of Public Works, along with the Office of Public Safety, swiftly moved to prepare a massive cleanup operation with increased man-hours, equipment and supplies as the first storm hit with over two feet of snow in many areas of the county. While that first storm challenged the county’s resources, the two subsequent storms that hit our area last week compounded what was to be the largest cumulative snowfall in Cumberland County history.

As National Weather Service forecasts began to predict 8-10 inches of snowfall with sustained gusting winds of up to 45 miles per hour beginning on Feb. 9, the 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Center staff reviewed procedures in coordination with lead staff from the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and the Public Works Department.

With the impending storm threatening to create even more hazardous and paralyzing conditions for the southern region, Gov. Chris Christie issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency for Cumberland and the surrounding counties of Atlantic, Burlington, Cam­den, Cape May, Gloucester and Salem. The governor’s emergency declaration was put in effect on Feb. 5.

With rapidly deteriorating road conditions, members of the county governing body, including Director Louis N. Magazzu and Freeholders Nelson Thompson and William Whelan, concluded that it was imperative that the public be advised of road hazards for their own safety and the safety of road crews. The OEM initiated a reverse 9-1-1 call to approximately 45,000 county resident households to request that nonessential vehicles stay off of county roads until all roads were cleared of snow.

“These last few days have been extreme weather events which forced county officials to caution on the side of safety to ensure that we are protecting the best interests of our county residents,” says Public Safety Director and Finance Committee member Freeholder Whelan.

The county’s overall cost of snow cleanup operations is in excess of $750,000 so far for this winter season. As a result of the federal government declaring Cumberland County a winter storm disaster area, the county expects to receive federal reimbursement from FEMA for up to 75 percent of these expenses.

“Employees and subcontractors under Don Olbrich, director of Public Works, and Jim Matlock, director of Public Safety, have done an heroic job under tremendously difficult conditions,” says Director Magazzu said.

“In addition to clearing record snowfalls from county roads, under conditions of blizzard winds, severe blowing and drifting snow and freezing rain, county crews working around the clock, responded to and worked around numerous motor vehicle crashes, wires down, trees down, and stuck vehicles—including police, state troopers, and ambulances with patients.”

Both Olbrich and Matlock credited their road crews and teams with handling the situation with the utmost professionalism and skill as they worked day in and day out under blizzard conditions, helping out law enforcement officials, medical emergency response personnel and others who found themselves stuck in snow drifts throughout the county.

The increasingly deteriorating weather conditions for the first time caused the county to close its offices for two consecutive days for the safety of all nonessential employees.

According to Public Works liaison Freeholder Thompson, “The residents of Cumberland County responded admirably to our recommendation to stay off the roads to allow our Public Works Department time to do their jobs.

“There was a significant safety factor with the high winds and blowing snow that created drifting on many of the county roads,” he notes.

“Our county road crews did an exceptional job and almost all roads are now passable as result of everyone’s cooperation.”