Pittsburgh International Airport Sends Help to Erie

Pittsburgh International Airport’s snow fighters arrived in Erie on Saturday morning to help keep their airport clear amid a massive weekend snowstorm.

PIT answered the call for mutual aid assistance from Erie International Airport by sending a crew of five snow fighters to help clear the airfield there. The crew left Pittsburgh at 6 a.m. Saturday morning and helped spell snow fighters in Erie, adding to the force there.

The lake-effect snowstorm that is pummeling Erie dumped nearly 3 feet of snow in some areas, including 22.6 inches of snow on Friday alone, breaking Erie’s one-day record snow total of 21.8 inches that fell Dec. 26, 2017, according to the Erie Times-News.

A lake effect snowstorm this weekend brought nearly 22.6 inches of snow on Friday alone, breaking Erie’s one-day record snow total of 21.8 inches that fell Dec. 26, 2017, according to the Erie Times-News. (Photo by Jim Moorhead)

Pittsburgh International Airport has assisted Erie’s airport during severe lake-effect snowstorms in past years when PIT isn’t battling its own storm, said Jim Moorhead, PIT’s vice president of airport operations, which oversees snow removal efforts. Moorhead also traveled to Erie to assist.

“Safety and security are always the top priorities and when Erie asked for help, our team stepped up to answer the call,” Moorhead said. “PIT’s team of snow fighters is among the best in the country, and we knew we could help.”

Erie County is under local disaster emergency, the city of Erie has enacted a snow emergency, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has vehicle restrictions in place on parts of interstates 79, 90 and 86. The snow has continued to fall since Friday and more snow is expected in the coming days.

Gov. Josh Shapiro announced in an X post that he has activated the Pennsylvania National Guard to help residents stranded by the storm in the Erie area.

“It’s one of the busiest travel periods of the year and it’s important to keep the national airspace moving,” Moorhead said.

The PIT crew that traveled to Erie included Tony Pavlovich, Gary Radford, Eugene Walker, Jason Rudge and Jim McClelland.

Members of the PIT team that assisted Erie International Airport in snow removal efforts this week included from left, Tony Pavlovich, Jason Rudge, Eugene Walker, Gary Radford and Jim McClelland. (Photo by Jim Moorhead)