BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — Our cities and counties are working hard to prepare for the potential of snow and ice.
The Benton County Road Department they are getting all their equipment ready for winter weather and crews are on standby ready to treat or clear roads as the storm gets to Benton County.
“We are in close contact with our school superintendents. We’re in contact with our mayors in our municipalities and even within the county we are trying to work much closer together on these events than ever before,” said Judge Barry Moehring.
The Administrator of Public Safety, Robert McGowen says people need to prepare now for this storm by making sure they have all the food and supplies they would need especially if the electricity goes out.
“We want individuals to be prepared to be home for 48 to 72 hours just depending on the severity of the event. We encourage people to not get out and try to drive in this because if you get stuck somewhere it might take a while for emergency personnel to get to you,” said McGowen.
Director of emergency management, Michael Waddle says if you do have to get out make sure you have a full tank of gas in case you do end up on the side of the road.
“Have an emergency kit in the car ready to go and if you are getting out give yourself plenty of time to get there and let somebody know where you’re going and when you’re expected to be there,” said Waddle.
The administrator of Public Services Jay Fraiser says the weather will be the deciding factor on if they pre-treat the roads because it’s very difficult to pre-treat roads in the rain.
“It depends on the severity of the rain, so if it’s a light rain, there is a possibility we can get out and do some salt brine type situations. If it’s a little too heavy, we may go ahead and send out our salt and sand trucks and do bridges, overpasses, hills, intersections,” said Fraiser.
The road department says they will work to clear primary roads first before making their way to secondary roads, so they ask for people who may live on those secondary roads to be patient.
In case electricity does go out, make sure to only use alternative heat sources that are approved for indoor use and to read the instructions ahead of time to make sure you know how to properly use it before the power goes out.
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