‘Prepare for the worst’: Elizabethtown and Bladen County ready for winter weather
BLADEN COUNTY (WWAY) — Here in the Cape Fear region, it looks like Bladen County could feel the biggest impacts from the storm.
It’s a small town, prepping for a big storm, and the Town of Elizabethtown is ready to brave the elements.
The streets and sidewalks of the Town of Elizabethtown are salted in preparation for potential inclement weather, including freezing rain and ice accumulation, with our forecast showing an estimated .17 inches.
“I like to say prepare for the worst and hope for the best, and that’s what we’re doing here now,” says Patrick DeVane.
Interim Town Manager of Elizabethtown, Patrick DeVane, says the town has made routine preparations.
“We’ve been doing the things that we normally do to prepare for a storm or a hurricane, we’ve been fueling up our trucks, getting our equipment operational. We’ve been talking to DOT about the roads, we’ve been salting our downtown area, the sidewalks downtown,” said DeVane.
The town is coordinating with the county’s emergency services, directed by Joey Coleman.
“Our Emergency Operation Center—that’s located in Elizabethtown—that’s where we will be managing our responders, and any efforts to, you know, to work through this storm will be worked out of the EOC. Our fire departments and stuff—we’re staying in contact with them, of course, leading up to the event and throughout the event—and, of course, with our other responders: EMS, law enforcement, we’re all working together to support each other as best we can,” said Coleman.
Town leaders aren’t the only ones prepping for the freeze; it looks like there’s been a run on winter essentials.
“We’re out of a lot of stuff,” says Donald Beyer.
Bladen Hardware Company owner Donald Beyer says cold-weather items are a hot commodity.
“We’ve sold a lot of propane stuff, regulators, and rigs, stuff for generators, and all kinds of different electrical stuff and plumbing for the propane,” said Beyer.
Some long-time residents like Adam Jordan are planning on waiting it out at home.
“Just kind of sit back and relax and see what everything happens. I know we’ll get a bunch of rain, freezing rain, sleet; depending on which way it comes in of if it’s freezing rain after the fact, if it’s a slow rain, will depend on how everything settles,” said Jordan.
Due to the ever-changing state of the weather, town officials say that the community can stay up to date through the county emergency Facebook page, as well as the county website.
