Press Release By: Gaston County Office of Emergency Management and Fire Services
GASTONIA, N.C. – Gaston County officials are urging residents to prepare now for Winter Storm Fern, which is expected to bring winter precipitation to the area over the weekend.
Residents should be prepared to stay off the roads beginning midday Saturday through the remainer of the weekend, due to the high potential for sleet and freezing rain that will impact the county’s streets.
Gaston County, along with the rest of the state, is under a State of Emergency, and Gaston County Board of Commissioners Chairman Chad Brown urged residents to take the storm seriously.
“Now is the time to make final preparations,” Brown said. “Please stay off the roads this weekend to avoid getting in a wreck and causing injury to yourself or others.”
The Gaston County Office of Emergency Management and Fire Services is offering the following tips to residents to prepare for the storm:
BE INFORMED
- Follow reputable sources of information like local media, the National Weather Service, and Gaston County Government.
- Sign up for emergency notifications that will come direct to your phone through our Alert Gaston system: https://member.everbridge.net/454102597238809/login
- Follow Gaston County Government on Facebook, Threads and Instagram for the latest updates and information.
HAVE A PLAN
- Know how to heat your home safely if the power goes out.
- Don’t use a generator inside of your home
- Don’t use a propane grill inside of your home
- Practice safety when using a space heater
- Have a backup plan on where to go if the power goes out for an extended period of time
- Gaston County will announce shelter locations if widespread power outages occur
- Assemble your disaster kit
- 1 gallon of water per person (and animals) for a minimum of three days
- Non-perishable foods for each member of your household
- Pet supplies and food
- Flashlights
- Extra batteries
- Cell phone power banks and charging cords
- AM/FM weather radio
- Blankets
- Fire Extinguisher
- First-aid kit
- Have battery-operated smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors
- A week’s supply of your medications
- Stay home and off the roads this weekend (until at least Monday)
- NC DOT crews and first responders should be given priority on the roadway. Help them help us and stay home.
- Stranded vehicles may be left on the side of the road and marked with a piece of yellow caution tape. If you see a vehicle with yellow caution tape on the mirror or wrapping the vehicle, it has been checked by first responders, and it is not an emergency.
- Please only call 911 for emergencies.
