'Blizzard of the century': Life safety remains focus as deaths reach 28 in Buffalo Niagara

At least 28 people have died in Erie and Niagara counties due to the blizzard, including 20 in the City of Buffalo, officials from across Western New York have confirmed. 

"I just have to offer my deepest condolences to those who lost a loved one as a result of this horrible situation," said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, who confirmed at least 27 deaths in Erie County from the storm. "I never thought I'd face this. I thought the storm that we faced in 2014 would have been the worst in which we had 14 deaths, but this has far surpassed it."

Niagara County on Sunday reported one confirmed storm death from an apparent carbon monoxide poisoning.

While Poloncarz said the Blizzard of '77 lasted longer, he said the ferocity of this storm was worse.

It's made for a long, difficult and emotionally draining situation for first responders, essential workers such as snowplow drivers and health care employees, and residents, many of whom were hoping to celebrate Christmas weekend by visiting family rather than trying to seek shelter from a storm that blasted the region with wind, snow and heartbreak.

"This blizzard is one for the ages," Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday. "Certainly, it's the blizzard of the century."

Hochul said the White House has vowed to swiftly approve the state's request for a federal emergency declaration for Erie and Genesee counties, which would make grant assistance available to state and local governments to reimburse costs incurred for emergency work. In a joint statement Monday, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand also put their support behind such a declaration, given the "once-in-generation blizzard" that hit Western New York.

Support for Western New York also is on the way from other counties across the state, including Nassau, Monroe and Albany.

'You will still get stuck out there'

As Western New York continues to respond in the storm's aftermath, officials also are still urging residents to stay off the roads in certain hard-hit communities.

As of Monday evening, driving bans were still in effect for the cities of Buffalo and Lackawanna as well as Cheektowaga. Poloncarz said late Monday that the Buffalo ban would continue through Tuesday but the edicts for Lackawanna and Cheektowaga would be reexamined Tuesday morning.

The ban was lifted for the rest of Erie County's municipalities, replaced instead with driving advisories. The Amherst driving ban was set to expire at 7 p.m. Monday.

In the suburbs where driving bans still remain, Poloncarz said he has talked to municipal officials and expected those bans to last throughout the day Monday and possibly into Tuesday.

In Buffalo, Mayor Byron W. Brown stressed that city officials need people to stay off the roads.

"You will still get stuck out there," Brown said. "Many streets in the City of Buffalo are still impassable. We have plows on mains and secondaries. We're into residential streets now, but the driving conditions are still very difficult. The driving ban is still in in place. Please do not drive in the City of Buffalo.”

Brown said the focus of the city's operations so far have been on "life safety," plowing to get to motorists that have been stranded in vehicles, to help emergency personnel respond to medical calls and to help National Grid gain access to power stations. 

Four power substations damaged

State, county and city officials reported progress Monday on restoring power to residents, some of whom have been without power since Friday.

Jackie Bray, commissioner of the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, said as of Monday afternoon there were about 12,500 households in Erie County without power, which was down from about 23,000 the night before. Brown said there are now less than 10,000 households in Buffalo without power, down from more than 20,000 at the height of the storm.

Bray noted there were four substations that were damaged and that provide power to the city. Of those four, she said all are fully re-energized, while two of them still need their distribution circuitry fixed.

"We are doing everything we can to restore power," she said.

Transition from rescue operations 

Erie County Undersheriff William Cooley said the county is starting to transition from rescue operations from the storm into making runs for medical needs and dialysis procedures, in addition to helping essential personnel get into hospitals to perform emergency surgeries and to relieve exhausted staff who have worked through the storm's duration.

Poloncarz said he expects law enforcement to get back to its traditional duties within the next 24 to 40 hours. 

"As we begin to get an upper hand on this storm, I would just encourage people to please continue to abide by any travel bans and warnings," Cooley said. "And if you're out there, you're just going to complicate matters on first responders."

Poloncarz also addressed reports that residents trapped at home are running out of food.

"That is a concern that we're working on," he said. "We've had a conversation this morning about having to potentially go outside of the county to pick up food at other locations and bring it in, even for those first responders that have been working nonstop."

Major grocers reopening

The county executive also said he's hopeful that some of the suburbs under a driving ban Monday will be able to open Tuesday, which should help many supermarkets reopen.

After closing the stores as the historic storm hit, Wegmans Food Markets said nine of its stores in Erie and Niagara counties would reopen on Tuesday at 10 a.m., while the remaining store – at 370 Orchard Park Road in West Seneca – would reopen late Tuesday afternoon.

"We're planning on opening to try to get employees in there, to be ready for shoppers tomorrow," said Wegmans spokeswoman Michelle Mehaffy. "Obviously, over the past couple of days, we haven't been getting products to the stores, so we ask people to be patient as we work to replenish the shelves, but we will certainly have staples that people need."

Meanwhile, Tops Markets – which had already reopened its Niagara County stores and seven of its Erie County locations in Amherst, Tonawanda, Hamburg, Lancaster, Alden and Grand Island – has reopened several more Western New York stores. It had 19 stores open in Erie County late Monday.

Poloncarz reiterated the storm led to a horrible situation – and the fresh snow Monday didn't help cleanup efforts.

"We can see sort of the light at the end of the tunnel but this is not the end yet," he said. "We are not there. There are driving bans as I noted in communities that will continue to exist for some time, at least through the daylight hours. And maybe even into the overnight hours into tomorrow."