GILLETTE, Wyo. — Wright Town Hall announced this morning that the Town of Wright is calling a snow emergency beginning at 12 a.m. Dec. 13.
Residents must keep emergency snow routes clear and cars need to be cleared off all side streets, a Town of Wright Facebook post said. If the Town of Wright determines that it can’t plow streets due to parked vehicles, the town won’t plow those streets.
Anyone with questions can call Public Works Superintendent Chris Roemmich at 307-299-2434.
Roemmich told County 17 at 2:23 p.m. Dec. 12 that the town will use its Facebook page, which is here, to update residents. The town will consider closure decisions of governmental agencies, such as the Wyoming Department of Transportation, in making its own road closure decisions, he said.
He said the Wright’s Town Council will still meet at 7 p.m. tonight.
Town of Wright Emergency Management Coordinator and WPAC Director Robby Gallob said at 2:52 p.m. that there are still coats and mittens available in the back hall behind the Wright post office.
“There’s still time to do-last minute preparations,” he said.
Gallob said Dec. 9 article that as an emergency manager and as an individual, he avoids traveling on roads when road conditions are poor. Residents should make sure they have at least a couple of days’ worth of nonperishable foods, even it has to be just snacks, before the storm, rather than during it, when going to the store will be challenging. Don’t forget baby diapers either, he said.
- Don’t put ashes from your fireplace into a plastic bag on your wooden porch. When the wind blows, ashes could flare up and start a fire.
- If it’s too cold for you to be outside, then it’s too cold for pets to be outside without protection.
- Carry any daily medications, ideally a few days’ supply, with you in your vehicle and with you to work just in case you get stranded.
- Put snow tires on your vehicle if you haven’t already.
- Find your snow shovel or snow blower.
- Be careful not to overexert yourself while shoveling.
- Pay attention to ventilation safety to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
- Check on your elderly neighbors and make sure they’re doing OK.
- If you have a medical device that relies on power, make a backup plan for charging it.
- Keep water trickling so pipes don’t freeze.
- If the power goes out for an extended period of time, families can huddle together in the smallest bedroom of their home, and use blankets and shared body heat to keep warm.
- Make sure children who walk to school have winter clothes in case they can’t get a ride.
- Make sure firefighters have access to fire hydrants and gas meters.
Anyone interested in volunteering with the Red Cross to help with potential warming shelters can contact King at 307-686-7477. They need more volunteers, King said.
For more information on general weather preparedness tips, check out Ready.gov, Red Cross, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
