Two days after the storm dumped snow across Colorado, people in Coal Creek Canyon are still digging as much snow as they can.
On Saturday, Slater Sayle and her neighbors spent the day sheltering from Thursday's storm.
“Two days left. Don't sell my back short,” Sayle said.
He lives in Coal Creek Canyon in rural Jefferson County. Living outside, people are prepared to be stuck inside, but having this much snow is unusual, he said.
“Storms of this magnitude don't happen very often. I don't think we've had this much snow in at least 15 years,” Sayle said.
He said homes were still buried under several feet of snow. To make matters worse, not all roads are plowed. After the road is cleared of snow, the snow plow creates a dog run in front of the driveway.
Slater believes nearby residents could be stranded for an extended period of time.
“They can't escape without help,” Sayle said.
He worries that someone will have an emergency and won't be able to get the help they need.
“I don't think emergency personnel can get close to these houses. Even if they go out onto the road, they don't go into people's property. Like an ambulance or a fire truck… they don't get close to anyone.” Sayle said.
He thinks someone with serious snow removal equipment will need to dig people out.
“We don't know who's going to help them. We don't know if the county will be able to bring in some kind of equipment and get people out,” Sale said.
Jefferson County announced there are no snowplows in the Coal Creek Canyon area due to too much snow. Instead, the county uses road graders. The county says its crews are working overtime to clear snow from roads, but only half of the county's 82 routes can be serviced. County officials hope crews can clear the road by the end of Saturday.
If that doesn't happen, neighbors may have to wait until all the snow melts, which Seil says won't happen quickly.
“They're going to take time,” he said.
The National Weather Service officially reported 3.5 feet of snow in Coal Creek Canyon from this week's storm.