Series Of Snowy Storms Keeping Chain Installers Busy In Sierra

TRUCKEE (CBS13) — The white powdery snow has people in the Sierra thinking green. Snow removal workers are getting paid overtime. Tourist businesses are capitalizing on the wintry conditions, and people like John Darrow, a chain installer, making money off highway traffic.

"Pull forward slowly," said Darrow while putting chains on an SUV.

There is no shortage of work for chain installers on I-80

"A little more.. stop," yelled Darrow.

Darrow says he's lost count of how many cars he's hooked up with chains the last 48 hours.

"This is a pretty busy weekend," said Darrow.

The installation cost $30 a vehicle. and business is good.

"A lot of people choose to have us do it because they don't want to be wet for the next couple of hours," Darrow explained.

In the elements, snow fighters are working to clear heavy snow from the roads.

"This weekend boy, we were fighting for our lives out here," said Dave Wood a Caltrans Superintendent.

He says travel times have improved since the holiday, but unprepared and speedy drivers create challenges.

"When traffic is moving three miles an hour, so is the snow removal equipment," said Wood, "so it's very difficult for us to keep up at that point."

Wood has two crews of at least 100 people each working around the clock.

"Right now, everyone has been working 12 hour shifts since Sunday night.

That means plenty of overtime pay for workers. Some of whom travel from the valley to help out.

"My job is to keep the road safe," said Wood, "make sure that our expenditures make sense and everything is ethical and consistent."

In Truckee, the phones are busy, hotels are booked, and the local economy is benefiting from the pounding snow.

"Non stop. People [are] coming in from the bay area, Sacramento, Ren," said Megan Schmitz at The Truckee Hotel.

She says the hotel was at capacity through the weekend and now..

"we're getting all these walk ins because of the storm," said Schmitz.

Money being spent and money being made as the winter storm covers the Sierra.

"It's really good energy here right now," said Schmitz.