By DENISE RAYMO
FORT COVINGTON — Warm days and cool evenings are the exact conditions Fort Covington and Franklin County officials want as they continue monitoring an ice jam.
Weekend temperatures in the low 40s, coupled with night-time lows in the teens, are allowing the Salmon River to flow and the ice to gradually melt.
Town Supervisor Patricia Manchester said rain is forecast for this weekend, but it not expected to bring heavy amounts of precipitation to the region.
"It looks like we could be out of the woods. It's been perfect."
Town and county highway crews had pulled massive sheets of ice from the river. They went back to some sites to break up ice but did not remove other ice pieces that had moved in, to keep the flow going, Manchester said.
John Bashaw, deputy director of county's Emergency Services Office, said his staff has been watching the water levels closely through a streaming Internet feed.
"It looks good. The ice is melting slowly and moving out."
He, too, noted rain is forecast, but it is not expected to cause any problems.
E-mail Denise A. Raymo:
draymo@pressrepublican.com
