Blizzard death toll grows; Poloncarz apologizes for criticizing Buffalo's snow removal

There have been 39 storm-related deaths in Erie County, County Executive Mark Poloncarz said Thursday.

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More bodies have been recovered that await autopsies to determine if their deaths were storm-related. One of the deaths awaiting an autopsy is that of a 4-month-old, he said.

Thirty-one of the deaths happened in Buffalo, including the last 13 confirmed deaths, Poloncarz said during a noon briefing.

Poloncarz also apologized for comments he made Wednesday when he criticized snow removal efforts in the City of Buffalo, calling it "embarrassing" that the city "is always the last one to open" after a major storm.

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The county executive said he apologized "for letting my emotions getting the best of me."

"I basically lost my focus, I will say that," Poloncarz said. "And I do apologize to our community for doing it, because the focus needs to be on the recovery efforts, as well as, unfortunately, helping the community members who've lost a loved one grieve as a result of this terrible, terrible situation."

Poloncarz apologized to "the community," as well as families of those who lost a loved one and City of Buffalo Department of Public Works employees.

Poloncarz said Wednesday that the county, which had taken over snow removal efforts in a portion of the city, should have a greater role in clearing city streets after future storms.

Poloncarz on Thursday said he called Mayor Byron Brown on Wednesday night, as well as sent him text messages, but he said the two had not yet spoken.

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Brown defended the city's blizzard response on Wednesday and suggested the strain of around-the-clock storm response was getting to Poloncarz. The mayor did not hold a news conference Thursday. 

Of the 39 Erie County deaths, seven happened in Amherst, Cheektowaga, Williamsville and Depew. Officials are still trying to determine where one death occurred, Poloncarz said.

Niagara County has reported one storm-related death, a man who died in Lockport of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Of the deaths in Erie County, 20 people who died were Black, 18 were white and one was Hispanic, the county executive said.

Seventeen of the people were found outside in Erie County, 11 were found in a home and four in a vehicle. Four of the deaths were cardiac events while a person was removing snow, and three died because of delayed emergency response during the blizzard.

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In terms of recovery operations, the National Guard is nearly done with welfare checks of communities where there were sustained power outages, Poloncarz said.

A preliminary estimate pegs the county's costs for independent contractors hired to remove snow at $5 million, with about $1 million incurred on Wednesday just in Buffalo, the county executive said.

The county has been winding down emergency response that is not related to the removal of snow, including making runs for medication and dialysis.

The county's Emergency Operations Center in Cheektowaga will begin to demobilize at 7 p.m. Thursday, though the center's closure and the lifting of the state of emergency "will take some time," Poloncarz said.