LAYTON, Utah — While the snow was pretty in and around northern Utah on Thursday, several areas received considerable amounts of snow, turning public works yards of cities into hives of activity.
"When it's go time, it's go time," said Colten Harley with the Layton City Public Works Streets Department
Between his time in Wyoming and Layton, Harley has logged a good ten years plowing roads, and he says when the snow starts to fall, he and his colleagues know they could be in for a long day at the office.
"There’s days that some of us, a lot of us, don’t go home at quitting time," he shared. "Some of us are here for 15, 16, sometimes 20-hour days."
And while Colten isn’t anyone to point fingers, he added that sometimes the public makes their job harder when dealing with stormy conditions.
"The weather, sometimes we can’t see, it's hard to see other people. Very, very on your toes. A lot of people pull out in front of you," Harley explained. "You gotta watch out for that."
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Longtime Layton resident Paul Howard also knows a thing or two about the challenges of being behind the wheel of a snow plow.
"I’ve been doing snow removal for most of my life," he said. "I’ve got about 25 years experience on the commercial side of doing snow removal."
These days, Howard sticks to his snow blower to help clear his neighborhood sidewalks and knows good snow when he sees it.
"I love storms like this," he spoke about Thursday's storm. "It's wet and all that, we had about two to 4 inches. As soon as I cleared it, most all day it's gonna stay warm, it's gonna stay pretty clear."
While the days can be long for crews at the public works yard, Harley sees it as making his community safer and the satisfaction that comes with people being able to make it home safely.
"We’re out here making it safe for them, for people to travel. Plus, my family travels up and down the roads," he said. "I kinda want them to get home as well — safely."
