2021 Ice Storm Has Overton Focusing On Preparedness Entering The Winter

Overton County is approaching one year since the major ice storm that ravaged communities in February 2021.

County Executive Ben Danner said over that time, emergency preparedness for any future weather events has been a focus.

“We did get a generator from the nursing home. We’re going to put it at the ambulance service where it could run the ambulance service,” Danner said. “The ambulance is as critical as any other building that we got. We can run that off of it. We are looking with this FEMA money to put some generators in the Hanging Limb area.”

Danner said the water supply up to Hanging Limb is pumped from Monterey. Danner said during the ice storm, those communities could not get water.

“We’re just trying to do everything we can to get ready, because it is going to happen,” Danner said. “I hope it is a long time and we don’t have use that stuff, but these two storms within five years of each other shows that it does happen.”

Danner said the county has also added new trucks and a new excavator to the highway department. Danner said he believes that the pieces are in place to have a good response to future ice storms.

“Chris Massengale at 9-11 he has been through five or six disasters declared by FEMA,” Danner said. “Floods, two ice storms, tornadoes so we got the people in place that know what to do.”