City of Spokane declares emergency

The City of Spokane declared an emergency Wednesday in hopes of tapping state and federal money to help with plowing efforts. In the last week, the city has spent about $1.5 million in snow removal efforts as city crews and private contractors attempt to keep streets open during record snowfalls and a series of storms that have been forecast for the next week. “I am declaring an emergency in order to allow my departments the greatest flexibility possible to gain additional resources as needed and to start the process to seek any state and federal assistance that is available to our city,” Mayor Mary Verner said.