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A snowmobile rollover accident is reported on Broadway Road, between Harlow and Countyline roads, in Darien.

The snowmobile reportedly rolled over on the driver but the driver is believed to be out from under the snowmobile now.

Darien fire and ambulance and Mercy EMS dispatched.

The location is slightly off the roadway. Somebody is waiting roadside to direct emergency responders to the location.

UPDATE 10:56 a.m.: No injuries. Darien fire and ambulance canceled.

Photo submitted by Melzie Case.

Here's a short video tour of the weather Thursday afternoon in Pembroke and Darien.

App users: Click here to view the video on thebatavian.com

Send closings to howard@thebatavian.com.

• Batavia City Schools
• St. Joe's Elementary School

Indian Falls at the Log Cabin Restaurant was a beautiful scene late this afternoon. Here is a short video and a photo.

App users: Click here to view the video on thebatavian.com.

Here are some photos from this afternoon taken along the Route 77 corridor of the western part of Genesee County, and on Route 5 and in Alabama and Oakfield.

Above, Darien Lakes State Park.

A home on Sumner Road, Darien. 

East Pembroke

On Route 77, south of Gabby Road.

On Route 77, south of Gabby Road.

Judge Road, Alabama.

Bliss Road, Oakfield.

Lewiston Road, Oakfield.

Tonawanda Creek, behind the County Courthouse in Batavia.

Press release:

The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the Genesee County Highway Department and Emergency Management Services, has canceled the travel advisory for all of Genesee County as of 5 p.m., Jan. 31.

Motorists are encouraged to continue to drive with caution due to present blowing and drifting snow accumulation on roads and sub-zero wind chill temperatures.

Emergency Management Coordinator Tim Yaeger said the state of emergency has also been canceled.

We can confirm, there is a lot of blowing and drifting snow and low visbility at times on county grounds. Photos and video coming, hopefully later tonight.

A motor-vehicle accident is reported on Lewiston Road, Route 77, at Salt Works Road, Alabama.

A truck is jackknifed and the roadway is blocked. Traffic is being shutdown in both directions.

Alabama fire responding.

A winter storm warning and wind chill advisory remain in effect for Genesee County until 7 p.m., with the wind chill advisory in effect until 7 a.m., Friday.

Up to three inches of lake effect snow is possible today before 7 p.m.

A travel advisory and state of emergency remain in effect for Genesee County.

Two truck drivers were cited today in connection with a 21-vehicle pile-up on the Thruway in Le Roy yesterday that hospitalized a state trooper.

Trooper Dominique Wilson sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the accident, which occurred at 2 p.m. in the eastbound lane of the Thruway near mile marker 382. Wilson remains hospitalized at Strong Memorial Hospital in stable condition.

Also injured were Michael L. Bushek, age 60, of Palmyra, and Edward F. Dejoy, age 55, of Hamburg. Both were treated and released at Strong.

Tractor-trailer drivers, Richard Magezi, 41, of Fort Worth, Texas, and Michael L. Lambert, 54, of Hartford, Conn., were ticketed for allegedly disobeying a traffic control device, speed not reasonable and prudent, following too closely, and driving across hazard markings.
 
The investigation revealed that 19 vehicles, including 16 passenger cars, one box truck and two tractor-trailers, were involved in the crash.

The preliminary investigation indicates that a tractor-trailer traveling eastbound lost control, jackknifed, and struck the rear of a Trooper Wilson’s troop car, pushing it out into the roadway where the patrol vehicle was then sideswiped by a second tractor-trailer.

There was a ban on tractor-trailer traffic on the Thruway at the time of the accident due to the winter storm passing through the area.

Le Roy fire, with Le Roy taking command, along Town of Batavia fire, and Bergen fire, and six ambulances from Genesee, Monroe and Livingston counties responded to the accident, which left the Thruway closed for several hours.

Top photo: submitted by a reader.

A car has struck a utility pole at Colby Road and Route 20, Darien.

There are no injuries but the pole and wires are down in the roadway.

Darien fire dispatched.

UPDATE 12:13 p.m.: Alexander fire police are going to shutdown traffic at Route 238.

UPDATE 12:22 p.m.: Truck traffic is being diverted onto Colby Road to Route 77. The pole will need to be replaced. It's supporting service to the house at that location.

UPDATE 12:37 p.m.: Roadway reopened. All Darien units back in service.

A one-vehicle rollover accident is reported on Bank Street Road near Cockram Road, Byron.

No word on injuries.

Byron fire and South Byron fire dispatched.

UPDATE 11:51 a.m.: Road conditions are not good, according to a first responder. Elba fire requeted to the scene to assist.

UPDATE 11:53 a.m.: The vehicle is off the road. All responding units from Byron and South Byron are parked at the side of the road. The road is not blocked. Elba can stand down. Mercy EMS on scene.

Press release:

A chimney fire that is said to be contained, though flames are showing, is reported at 6516 Keller Road, Pavilion.

The location is between Roanoke Road and Transit Road.

The family cannot evacuate because of an elderly resident.

Pavilion fire along with Le Roy and Stafford dispatched.

UPDATE 10:27 a.m.: The homeowner told a first responder he believes the fire burned itself out. Responders warned about road conditions.

UPDATE 10:28 a.m.: Working fire in stove pipe. It's contained to the pipe. The family being assisted with evacuation.

UPDATE 10:32 a.m.: No smoke in the residence.

While a travel ban related to yesterday's blizzard-like conditions was lifted last night, this morning a travel advisory remains in effect and is expected to remain in place until 7 p.m.

A winter storm warning is in place until 7 p.m. though the current forecast doesn't show much snow for Batavia today. That, of course, could change.

The photo above from a reader is of a truck rollover accident at Lewiston and South Main in Oakfield that occured around 10:30 p.m. The road is still closed but should reopen soon. The truck was carrying 80,000 pounds of blueberries. Complicating the effort to get it up right were the powerlines overhead. National Grid installed a new utility pole at that location overnight.

Updates on closings (for our prior post on closings, click here):

• The Richmond Memorial Library will remain closed today.
• WW at First United Methodist Church on Lewiston Road, Batavia is cancelled.
• Pembroke Diagnostics -- 860 Main St., Corfu
• Cardiac Rehab --  215 Summit St., Batavia
• Le Roy Lab Services -- 3 Tountas Ave., Le Roy (Le Roy Primary Care remains open)
• Town Hall in Darien is reopening today, but delayed by two hours. UPDATE: Town Hall closing at noon.
• Classic Optical -- 44 Batavia City Centre, Batavia
• The Divine Tree -- 19 Main St., Le Roy
• Chassix is open and employees are asked to report for work.
• UMMC Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine Center is closed.
• High Voltage Tattoo & Piercing -- Closed today
• Celebrate Recovery Meeting (at Northgate Free Methodist Church) for today, Jan. 31, is cancelled.

Send closings and cancelations to howard@thebataivan.com.

UPDATE 9:01 a.m.: We just spoke with Tim Yaeger, emergency management coordinator. He said the forecasters with the National Weather Service say they expect a lake effect snow band that is currently south of Genesee County to shift north sometime this morning. The band should stay south of the Thruway. This could mean more snow and wind for Batavia, and if the shift does occur, certainly for the southwestern part of the county. He said, "they used words like two-thirds of the county" could be hit by the band. "It's sunny now but we don't want anybody to get lulled into the idea that the storm is past," Yaeger said. The travel advisory and state of emergency remain in effect. He said county officials will reevaluate the situtation around noon.

UPDATE 9:35 p.m.: There's a report of drivers stuck at the Flying J getting agitated. Drivers are reportedly yelling at each other.

Press release:

The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the Genesee County Highway Department and Emergency Management Services, has issued a travel advisory for all of Genesee County. Motorists are encouraged to avoid all unnecessary travel due to the significant accumulation of snow combined with strong winds and sub-zero wind chill temperatures and zero visibility at times.

 Advisory is in effect from 9 p.m., Jan. 30, until further notice.

Sheriff Sheron reminds motorists that dark traffic signals that are not working are to be treated as a four-way stop. 

Twenty-one vehicles, including a State Police patrol vehicle, were involved in an accident that shutdown the Thruway through Le Roy this afternoon.

Injuries were reported but no details have been released.

Several people involved in the accident were transported by van to the Ontario Service Center where they were evaluated by Mercy medics and interviewed by Troopers.

Le Roy Fire, Town of Batavia Fire, with assistance from Caledonia and Monroe County, responded to the scene.

Top three photos released by State Police. Bottom two photos courtesy a reader.  If you have photos to share of the accident, send them to howard@thebatavian.com

(Initial Post)

UPDATE: Reader submitted photo added below.

This video was shot around the one o'clock hour.

App Users: Click here to view the video on TheBatavian.com.

In order to enact a travel ban today, Bob Bausch, chairman of the Genesee County Legislature, signed a letter at 2 p.m. today declaring a state of emergency and that state of emergency is expected to be in place through tomorrow.

The travel ban could be lifted this evening, though, said Tim Yaeger, emergency management coordinator. 

"It was busy," Yaeger said. "It came in fairly quickly around noonish and started hitting very quickly. It has started to subside a little bit. Now, it's quieted down quite a bit. We're expecting the lake effect to move south but then reenter back into Genesee County tomorrow during the day."

Besides enabling the sheriff to declare a state of emergency, it gives county officials additional power, though Yaeger said there's no plans to, say, impose a curfew or ban alcohol sales. The county has also not used the state of emergency to ask for assistance from other counties or the state.

"We're continuing to monitor it at the point that we checked with our highway department superintendent and he's checking with the municipalities," Yaeger said. "But because the amount of snow at this point is manageable, we're going to continue to manage that. But that option is always open but at this point (no assistance) is needed."

Even as the snowfall slows down, the county remains on a ready footing. Each county fire department has personnel at their fire halls, City fire has extra personnel on duty, and the local law enforcement agencies have extra officers on patrol.

The Emergency Management Center is operating as a command center but Yaeger said it is at a "level 3" standard of operation.

"We are open and active and we're monitoring the weather and monitoring phone calls that are coming in the different situations so we have good situational awareness of what's going on in the county, so we can react to any of needs that may come up," Yaeger said.

The travel ban serves two primary purposes, Yaeger explained. It helps keep the public safe but it also helps keep first responders safe.

"The weather is our concern with the public out there," Yaeger said, "then the first responders trying to do their their work, to respond to emergencies, first to gain access there and then to be in these elements is extremely dangerous."

In this weather, it's especially important for first responders to get to stranded motorists quickly and safely.

"Because of the extreme cold you cannot be in those elements, or be in a vehicle and not be able to move and not have heat in your car," Yaeger said. "It is not safe at any point."