FAYETTE COUNTY, WV (WOAY) – It’s been a white January and Mother Nature’s showing no signs of slowing down.
So the Fayette County Office of Emergency Management is doing all it can to keep you prepared and safe. They recommend staying off the roads or at the very least, slowing down.
“Be careful out there, there’s going to be slick spots. The wind plays havoc on clear roads. They’ll look clear, but they’re actually frozen,” said Chief of Emergency Preparedness & Operations JAK Kincaid. “If you don’t need to go out, stay in. Heat up some chilli (and) watch the ball games. If you have to go out, take some extra time.”
The worst areas are higher elevations, into the mountains. The governor’s office issued a state of preparedness for West Virginia’s 55 counties. Check out Ready.gov’s How to Protect Yourself from Winter Weather, and Resolve to be Ready.
https://www.ready.gov/winter-weather
“Some things you could stock up at the house; always have a secondary heating source. It’s great to have a generator but not everybody does,” Kincaid said. “If nothing else, have a plan of action where you will go if you lose power (and) how long you can shelter in place.”
FCOEM maintains live communication between sites and if people need emergency response — it can be dispatched through 911. According to the chief of emergency preparedness & operations, their challenges are with the county.
“It could be bad on one of the highway corridors — Route 60, Route 61, Route 19, and not that bad in other areas. We work through that, hopefully in the fair weather,” said Kincaid. “Then if somebody needs a certain resource or just simple communication, we’ve already got (it) taken care of.”
Emergencies can elicit fear. How one deals with that fear reaction will dictate how one handles adverse situations.
“We like to help people and make sure we can try to ease that panic as much as possible,” the chief of emergency preparedness & operations said. “Point them in the right direction if they need assistance or help.”
