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County is lucky to have trained volunteers, staff in emergencies
With this winter’s second severe snowstorm arriving six weeks to the day after the first, Jackson County’s emergency personnel – both staff and volunteer – once again proved they are second to none.
Heavy snow fell fast and furious on Friday afternoon, stranding motorists, toppling trees and causing widespread power outages, but our area had no serious injuries or deaths.
County officials reacted promptly, setting up an emergency operations center to coordinate responses and opening a shelter for those who were stranded, cold and hungry.
Local N.C. Department of Transportation employees, assisted by local law enforcement and the N.C. Highway Patrol, worked tirelessly to cut trees, remove vehicles and clear the roads.
Duke Energy, Haywood Electric Membership Corp. and Progress Energy brought in additional workers to assist with restoring power to thousands of residences. At one point on Saturday, Duke reported that more than 36,000 households – more than half of its Nantahala service area – were without power.
Through it all, the county’s volunteer emergency personnel, along with Emergency Management Director Todd Dillard and Sheriff Jimmy Ashe, worked together to make sure that every stranded motorist was rescued. In addition, they brought people to the shelter as necessary and provided countless safety and welfare checks on isolated county residents.
All of these dedicated county and power company employees, as well as our numerous excellent, well-trained volunteers, risk their lives during every emergency in order to keep the rest of us save.
They do a super job, and we’re grateful for them.
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