00:00Thank you so much sir for joining us give us the latest on the power outages across the region.
00:06Absolutely so our county has suffered an extreme devastation. We've seen approximately two and a
00:12half inches of ice build up on power lines and telephone poles that carry that critical
00:18infrastructure within our county. Currently we have over 17,000 without power. We're asking
00:23residents to shelter in place and only travel if there's essential emergencies to obtain fuel
00:29and get generators and food and things of that nature. Over 93 percent of the county is without
00:36power and crews are actively attempting to restore that. However during that restoration process the
00:42critical infrastructure is so fragile that simply just touching a line potentially brings 17 to 18
00:50power poles down with it. Wow yeah we're seeing some of the video there out of Gaylord and it's
00:55just you know when you say two and a half inches of ice just completely devastating. Have there
01:00been any major safety concerns or incidents as a result of the storm and how soon do officials
01:06expect power to be fully restored? Yeah several roadways do not have access in or out of them.
01:17We have a major significant public safety concern since we are asking people to stay in place due
01:22to the the dangerous conditions. I've directed the road commission as well as state and local
01:28resources to attempt to make lanes passable but we understand that the public is in a significant
01:36risk. Very early on we declared a county of emergency and we've also joined I believe
01:41approximately five other counties which led to a state of emergency declaration by our governor.
01:47And you're also in charge of the emergency management in that county. Have you seen any
01:52emergencies that you've had to contend with number one and number two? How are you advising
01:57residents to prepare for the next storm? Yeah we're asking residents to make sure that they
02:07practice generator safety ensuring that they're being safe against carbon monoxide, that they
02:13have enough food and water. Also we're directing them to shelters to charge devices like cell
02:18phones in case they do have to contact 9-1-1 in an emergency. We are also working with county
02:24transportation services to evacuate individuals to shelters that are unable to get there.
02:29Gavin Alberici from Ostego County where they're dealing with a historic ice storm from this past
02:35weekend and another storm on the way. Thanks for joining us and we wish you well getting back to
02:41normal as quick as possible.
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