“What happened was that it snowed a lot but it was also very cold, which is why the snow accumulated on the cables froze and the weight ended up breaking the poles,” the minister told LMNeuquén. He clarified that a check had been carried out during the summer and it had been found that these structures were in good condition, but some gave way to the extreme temperatures of recent weeks.
Corroza clarified that the snowfall came ahead of time and surprised many residents of the Minas department, which is the area most affected by the storm. Thus, the towns of Los Miches, Guañacos, Varvarco, Manzano Amargo and the rural area, which includes Tierras Blancas, Pichi Neuquén, Butalón Norte, are the most complicated due to the weather conditions, which could be repeated in the coming days.
“As for the Mines department, in Los Miches, energy continues to be generated using generator sets and work is being done on the reconstruction of the trunk line, with 24 structures already assembled. In Los Chacayes-Tierras Blancas, six poles were erected and the tasks continue, such as also in La Matancilla where there were several fallen poles and excavations for assembly have already been carried out,” the Neuquén government reported in a statement.
The extreme cold and snow affected the inhabitants of rural areas. Although many had received firewood from the operation organized by the provincial Executive, which began distribution in April, there were people who did not have a roofed area or nylon to protect this resource. For this reason, the minister clarified that a new delivery of firewood was made to provide dry material to those who had wet wood, which was no longer useful for heating during the storm.
At the same time, he clarified that many ranchers who practice transhumance had to face below-zero temperatures ahead of time. “He caught some of them on the way to where they have the plains and shelters. Although they are people used to the cold and these inclemencies, this time he arrived early,” she said.
For Corroza, the most important thing is to highlight the joint work between the different organizations to avoid deaths due to the cold and snow. “This year we did not have to regret fatalities, and it is thanks to teamwork,” he assured. In previous seasons, there had been cases of disoriented breeders affected by storms or even dying in the ancestral practice of transhumance.
The minister clarified that maintaining communication with people who live in more isolated rural areas is essential. For this, they use permanent contact with the mayors, contributions from the OPTIC and also from local radio stations, which sometimes become the only means to give warnings or request assistance when weather conditions become complicated.
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This weekend, an operation coordinated by the province’s Risk Management area helped assist some elderly people who lived isolated in areas with a lot of snow. Thus, they had to resort to helicopter trips to be able to provide them with assistance from the SIEN and also transport them to the development commissions or more central areas of each town, where the protection against snowfall was greater.
In this context, Corroza reinforced the request to the community to avoid any unnecessary trips to the areas affected by the storm. “We are adding rentals for machine hours because Provincial Roads cannot cope with the work to clear the routes,” he said and added that whenever it is necessary to travel to an area complicated by snow, it must be done with chains and paying attention to the recommendations. of the Highway Police.
“There are people who get angry when they are told they cannot continue their journey, or that they cannot continue travelling without chains, but that is the recommendation we make to ensure safety,” said the minister, clarifying that they aim to face the storm as closely as possible to the affected Neuquén residents.
The Leña operation, key to facing the storm
The Secretary of Culture, Inclusion and Community Management, Miryan Abojer, reported that due to the snowstorm that affects mostly the interior of the province, the Firewood Operation and the distribution of gas vouchers were reinforced.
“Our priority is to assist families that do not have the necessary resources and collaborate to satisfy their needs for heating and cooking food at times when inclement weather is not favorable,” said the official.
He highlighted that, thanks to the political decision of the governor, Rolando Figueroa, and the Minister of Human Development, Local Governments and Women, Julieta Corroza, to advance the distribution of firewood in rural areas and Indigenous Communities, “attentive to the snow storm , and in coordination with the company Corfone SA, we carried out reinforcement in the homes of the elderly to guarantee the supply of firewood.”
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Abojer reported that, during the tour they took with Minister Corroza, they saw that the most affected area and the most difficult to access is the North. However, he maintained, “it was possible to provide gas vouchers to all Indigenous Communities and rural areas. In addition to a reinforcement of dry firewood in the most critical sectors that were humidified by the storm.”
Likewise, he indicated that so far “60 thousand cubic meters of firewood have been delivered, which provides about 10 m3 per family.” Regarding the gas bonuses, he stated that, although this contribution was cut by the National State, the provincial government “decided to continue with the operation with its own resources to guarantee the contribution for the acquisition of a gas bottle for the families who “They do not receive a salary,” he concluded.
Power lines, complicated by snow
Due to the strong winds, since this morning the Filo Morado-Buta Ranquil medium voltage line has had several problems with broken or fallen poles. Transportation personnel are working on site. The line affects the supply to the Buta Ranquil and Barrancas area.
An operation was also coordinated to repair three broken poles on the Cerro Bandera-Primeros Pinos medium voltage line, to enter with a backhoe due to the difficulty of accessing the land. Energy is supplied from Villa Pehuenia and Moquehue through generating sets, while only essential services are supplied to the Aluminé area.
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In addition, the line that feeds El Huecú and El Cholar was out of service due to a frayed cable that was detected in the 13.2 kilovolt medium voltage line. At 10:30 the service was restored in El Huecú and at 11:30 the generation with diesel equipment stopped and the line went into service in El Cholar.
Meanwhile, in the southern area, maneuvers began at 7 a.m. to supply Las Coloradas with generation groups, since there were problems on the line that supplies the area.
