Tacomans struggle to dig out of major snowstorm

TACOMA, Wash. — The snow mostly stopped falling in Tacoma by Saturday afternoon – but now people are struggling to dig out.

Plows are hitting the main roads, but it will take a while before you see relief on side roads.

KIRO7 saw a truck towing out a mustang from a hilly side street. First, the truck slid, then the mustang slid and hit the parked car next to it on Division Ave.

A similar scene played out just a few blocks away when a blue sedan tried to get out of a parking spot.

The volume of snow caught some people unprepared, clearing snow off vehicles with their hands, using car mats to shovel snow, and putting on car chains with only socks on their hands.

Others said “no way” to trying to go anywhere by car.

“I just gave up. I got in there, looked around, cleaned it off, decided it’s not worth it. So I just left it,” said Robert McFann, who lives in Tacoma.

“I was really surprised how much snow downtown Tacoma got,” he said.

Many are rejoicing at the thick blanket of snow.

“I love it,” said Jeff Morrison, who also lives in Tacoma. “It’s pretty rare,” he said.

But others are feeling the opposite.

“Right now, it’s too much for us,” said Jolene Baugh, who lives in Tacoma.

She and her boyfriend say it’s their first time driving in real snow.

“This is us being stuck right here,” Baugh said. She said they got so stuck, they decided the best option was to walk to the nearest store to buy chains. It was a 30-minute walk each way – and the sidewalks were not easy to navigate.

“They’re slippery! I slipped and slide a couple of times. It was crappy but it’s OK,” Baugh said.

Her boyfriend, Darren Odom, says a delayed COVID test result meant they had to miss a vacation in Hawaii and are now dealing with storm troubles instead.

“I wasn’t prepared for this at all,” he said with socks on his hands while working on getting the chains on the tire. “I got a suitcase full of shorts in the car that I was supposed to wear in Hawaii,” he said.

Cox Media Group