LINCOLN County, Colo. – “Historic” snowfall continued to hit Elbert and Lincoln counties Thursday as forecasters warned that up to three feet of total accumulations were possible by the time the winter storm eases its grip Saturday afternoon.

“We currently have between 20 and 22 inches (of snow) on the ground. and we have another projected 13 to 21,” Capt. Michael Yowell of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office told Denver7. “In some areas of Lincoln County, we have road and bridge operators with heavy equipment encountering snow drifts of eight to 10 feet.”

Yowell said Thursday that the main concern is motorists driving on closed roads or “using different apps to get into trouble.”

“We have stranded motorists all over the county and we are trying to convince them to conserve gas and take precautions and survival kits and things like that when driving,” he added.

During a briefing Thursday, the National Weather Service (NWS) in Boulder said Elbert and Lincoln counties were the “epicenter” of this winter blast.

Lincoln County will definitely be impacted,” said Greg Heavener, NWS warning coordination meteorologist. “Parts of Lincoln County could easily exceed 3 feet of snow.”

A winter storm warning is in effect until Saturday As meteorologists warn, conditions will continue to worsen. “Do not travel or expect to travel to those locations until at least Saturday, as heavy snow impacts will last long after this storm. If you live in rural areas of eastern Douglas, Elbert, Lincoln or southern Washington County “Be prepared to be stranded for several days,” NWS forecasters wrote.

Both directions of I-70 were already closed Thursday from east of Denver to the Kansas border. The Colorado State Patrol told Denver7 that troopers responded to calls to help stranded drivers between Watkins and Limón along I-70.

Lincoln County authorities added a serious warning for motorists trying to navigate the deteriorating road conditions. “Our resources have reached a point where we can no longer adequately respond to everyone’s emergency,” Yowell said.

He added that additional resources were helping respond to the winter storm, including CDOT, fire crews and other law enforcement who are “trying to conduct search and rescue operations to get people to warm shelters.”

He said emergency crews responded to reports of about a dozen people stranded as of Thursday afternoon. “But the problem is, with some of these apps that they’re using, they’re taking them so far off the beaten path that we can’t access them, and it’s a real problem that we’re facing.” now,” Yowell said.

When asked how many other motorists could be stranded in Lincoln County, Sheriff Tom Nestor told Denver7, “That’s what we fear, we don’t know.”

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office

He said that the 10 to 12 people who have already been treated have been located because “those are the ones who have cell service.”

“We’re finding people on county roads who don’t have to be that far from the highway. So we don’t know who we’re missing, because some of these detours on these county roads are 7, 8, 10 feet deep,” Nestor said.

As an additional warning to drivers, Sheriff Nestor said fire and EMS personnel with 4-wheel drive vehicles are getting stuck while first responders resort to heavy machinery, including loaders to reach drivers.

“I haven’t seen a storm like this in many, many years,” he said. “I’ve been at the sheriff’s office for 36 years and we’re having a lot of trouble getting around. “We just can’t get people out.”

CDOT

The message for anyone looking to hit the roads in Lincoln and Elbert counties, hard hit by this winter storm, is to stay home.

“I haven’t seen this kind of storm in a long time. I don’t know how I’m going to leave people stranded. I don’t know how we are going to get people to the hospitals. “This has me worried,” Sheriff Nestor said. “We hope to get through this without anyone being hurt or killed. But I’m not going to hold my breath now, this is dangerous.”

• Watch Denver7’s full report from Lincoln County officials in the video player below.

‘This is dangerous’: Historic Lincoln County snowstorm stops motorists