From snow to ice: Wilmington snow plow crews worry for freezing conditions

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY-TV) – Perhaps one of the most popular and in-demand people following a snow event like the one we just experienced are businesses that offer “snow clearing” or “snow plowing.”

“We have two skid steers, one plow, and four front end bucket loaders that are out,” said Chris Sikes, owner of Coastal Concepts Construction.

The construction company began focusing on its snow plowing efforts early last week.

“We realized that we were gonna have a need for this come probably about Tuesday Wednesday when things started to solidify,” Sikes said.

Sikes said since Friday, his phone has been ringing non-stop ahead of Saturday night’s storm.

“We’ve gotten to the point now where we tell people we can’t help them,” Sikes said.

Since 8 p.m. Saturday night his crew of 12 has been working 24 hours straight with brief breaks since the snow came through. Sikes said snow plows are hard to come by in the area and are in high-demand. He said their company charges $300 per hour.

“Nobody realized how much we were gonna get and we never plan for these things around here,” Sikes said.

After several hours of plowing, the right wardrobe is needed.

“Heated pants are the key here, gloves obviously we have to keep are face covered because this wind is just brutal,” Sikes said.

As soon as the sun goes down, Sikes is no longer concerned about snow, but ice.

“All of this is gonna freeze tonight and what you see that has melted is gonna become ice,” Sikes said.

He said once this slush freezes over, they don’t have any more salt to combat it.

“We will have to plow it again and then when the sun comes up tomorrow that will kind of melt it and we will have to keep that cycle up until we’re out of the freezing temperatures,” Sikes said.

Sikes is urging drivers to slow down around snow plows and be cautious if you are out on the roads.