Governor Calls for State of Emergency

Road conditions during a previous snow storm this year cause problems during the morning commute in Prince William County.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said in a press conference, this afternoon, that he would be issuing a State of Emergency for the entire Commonwealth to go into effect as of 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 16.

According to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, a governor’s declaration allows for quick assistance to be provided to local governments.

During the press conference, McAuliffe said that “every single part” of the Commonwealth would be impacted by the snow storm.

“In the past, where we moved equipment to areas that have been hit, now our equipment needs to be spread throughout the Commonwealth,” the Governor said.

To prepare, he ordered road preparations to get ahead of the storm, including the employment of 12,000 pieces of equipment, as well as personnel, and salt and brine to be used to pretreat the roads.

He wanted to begin early in preparation for the sizable job ahead.

“We can move about the Commonwealth quickly to make sure we’re putting down the salt and the brine, and then obviously when the snow starts, the snow removal equipment.”

To assist the road preparations and for the safety of motorists, McAuliffe asked that those who do not need to be on the roads stay inside.

“I will once again implore everyone to please stay off the roads if you don’t need to go out on the road- to let the folks operating the equipment move about with ease,” McAuliffe said.

While last year’s storm hit only certain parts of Virginia, allowing the emergency response to be more targeted, McAuliffe said he is confident that this response will be even better. He added that since there has been no major snow emergency yet this year, their stockpiles have a good reserve.

However, he said it is essentially to move quickly and not wait until the situation escalates.

“Obviously we take very seriously a State of Emergency in the Commonwealth....We do not make this decision lightly.”

The Virginia Department of Transportation and volunteers will be working to prepare roads, beginning with primary roads, then moving on to secondary and neighborhood roads.

McAuliffe said the Commonwealth may be able to assist nearby states, but first he advised all agencies to focus on Virginia.

The Governor said his team had been in contact with Dominion Power, regarding residents without power. He believes the forecast is not calling for wet heavy snow, so he hopefully it will not bring down many power lines in the Commonwealth.