After battling this week’s winter storm, Pellston Regional Airport began landing planes Thursday evening.
The small Emmet County airport is the closest location for commercial flight service to tourist destinations like Mackinac Island. Typically, Pellston sees up to 12 round-trip flights per week as part of Delta Airlines.
Airport Director Ryan Bachelor said crews worked overtime to keep up with the constant barrage of snow. He said the airport saw about three feet of new snow accumulation over the course of the week.
The airport was closed Saturday and Wednesday, while all flights were canceled Tuesday.
Bachelor said while recent years have brought severe storms, they didn’t last as long.
“Years past felt like battles, this felt more like a war,” he said. “I grew up here and it seems like when I was a kid, this was the type of storm that we would get and cause all the plows to be working overtime.”
Often regarded as "Michigan's icebox," the Village of Pellston sees below average temperatures due to its position in a sand basin between two ranges of hills near the Maple River.
According to Michigan State University, Pellston recorded the state's record low temperature of -53 degrees Fahrenheit in 1933 and continues to be one of the coldest places in the nation, with temperatures well below zero for an average of 40 days each winter.
Pellston contracts Airport Rescue Fire Fighters to clear runways. Bachelor says an axle on one plow truck broke yesterday but will be repaired in the coming days.
