Tarrant County declares disaster due to winter storm; officials seek Abbott’s help
As the historic winter weather continues, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley placed the county under a state of disaster on Tuesday and has asked Gov. Greg Abbott for help.
“I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that an effective response is beyond Tarrant County’s capability to recover,” Whitley wrote to Abbott.
About 283,000 Oncor customers in Tarrant County and 293,000 in Dallas County were without power, according to the company’s outage map.
The declaration gives Whitley executive powers to protect the county. The disaster declaration due to the coronavirus allowed Whitley to enact the mask mandate until Feb. 28. Whitley’s decision comes after Abbott put Texas under a state of disaster on Feb. 12.
Whitley said it’s still up in the air if he needs to issue an executive order to protect county residents, but he will listen to the advice of the county’s emergency management office.
The declaration also activates the county’s mitigation plan and calls for officials in the county’s emergency office to work with cities. To combat power outages suffered in the county, Fort Worth and cities across North Texas have opened warming stations.
“At this point in time, everybody just kind of has to hunker down, and stay as safe as they possibly can,” Whitley said.
While Texas has not seen a winter storm since 2013, the county’s mitigation plan warned that a winter storm could hurt the county.
“Though there has not been a major winter event recorded since this 2013 example, a severe winter storm happening in the next five years cannot be ruled out,” the plan reads.
During the last big snowstorm in December 2013, about 275,000 customers were left without power in North Texas, according to the county’s mitigation plan. It also caused about $30 million in residential damages.
The county closed its offices Tuesday, something it seldom does.
This story was originally published February 16, 2021 at 2:12 PM.
