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Big Bend snowplow crew travels to Kentucky to help after winter storm
A snowplow crew from Big Bend traveled to Kentucky to help storm-hit communities, working 48 hours and plowing hundreds of miles, with most of the effort donated to those in need.
BIG BEND, Wis. - While many people in Wisconsin were trying to stay warm over the weekend, a snowplow crew from Big Bend packed up and headed straight into a winter storm to help strangers dig out hundreds of miles away.
A trip down south
What they're saying:
Andrew Smith, owner of BRT Services in Big Bend, traveled to Lexington, Ky., on Friday with a crew, a fleet of plows and several friends after parts of the state were slammed with snow and ice.
"Some people like to go on vacations to beaches and stuff like that – me and my friends, I guess, we are a little crazy, but we like to plow snow," Smith said.
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Smith said he wanted to leave subzero temperatures at home to help in Kentucky, calling the trip both fun and meaningful.
"As soon as we got down here, my phone was going off the hook with people to help," he said.
Smith said the idea came from a friend who told him the experience would be life-changing. Once in Kentucky, the crew encountered severe icing conditions that made travel difficult.
"The ice coming off the tree, it was something you see in history books of it, but to be in person, it was really crazy and scary at the same time, driving through all of that," he said. "The ice was pretty and dangerous."
Icy conditions
Big picture view:
A National Weather Service map showed the Lexington area received more than 3 inches of snow. From Saturday through Monday evening, Smith said his crew worked about 48 hours, traveling roughly 500 miles, including into mountainous areas.
"Here they got about 12 inches, but it compacted down and turned to sleet and rain, ice, so total on, there’s about 6 inches of snow and 3 inches of ice," Smith said.
When asked if that made plowing more difficult, Smith responded, "Oh, it’s terrible to plow, it's almost next to impossible."
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Smith said about 90% of the trip was charitable, with most of the work donated to people in need.
"I would say 90% of this trip was all donated money between Adam at RPS and myself at BRT and about 10% of the trip," he said. "We did do some contracted work for another friend of outs down here and that was a need because they don’t have any plows."
Helping others
Why you should care:
Smith said residents were grateful for the help, with some even offering cookies in thanks. With conditions now frozen solid, Smith said the crew planned to head home on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
The story proves not all heroes wear capes – some drive snowplows.
The Source: The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News.