Gov. Nathan Deal warned Georgians Tuesday that the icy conditions that have paralyzed much of the state and its roadways aren’t going away anytime soon.
“The weather has to cooperate in order for us to do what we really need to do. So I would just urge everyone to make sure they take care of themselves, and that they do not put themselves in a position of danger,” a sweatshirted Deal told reporters invited briefly into his meeting Tuesday with disaster advisors.
Deal did not take any questions, leaving that to state law-enforcement,. transportation and disaster officials as they exited about 10 minutes later.
Commissioner Vance Smith of the state Department of Transportation counseled Georgians to "Be patient. There will always be a sunnier day than what we have had in the last couple of days."
He and the others who met with Deal were short on specifics of what they discussed with the new governor other than to say that everyone was working hard and doing their best.
"I think we are doing a great job," Smith said.
Around metro Atlanta, traffic was still paralyzed in many locations Tuesday, with interstates reduced to one lane and some sections closed.
Smith said his workers' mandate was to clear interstate highways and work their way to less used highways.
The storm has paralyzed half the state, but Georgia Emergency Management Agency Director Charley English said the actual damages do not rise to the level to trigger federal assistance.
“We’re very fortunate that there haven’t been any debris problems, any power outages of note,” he said, adding that other expenses related to the storm were not eligible for assistance under a federal disaster declaration.
English congratulated citizens for staying put.
“We’ve not had those kind of lifesaving missions that a lot of times we see and the resources have been diverted to the roads where the real issue is,” he said.
Deal said during his comments to the media, “As we all know, ice in the South is the biggest danger we have. One of the good things about it is that the ice has not broken any power lines. Of course, that is always good news. So we have something to be thankful for.”
Monday during the opening of the General Assembly and Deal inauguration, 14 state troopers and six other law-enforcement officers helped shuttle legislators to the Capitol from downtown and inside the I-285 perimeter. Georgia State Patrol Commissioner Col. Bill Hitchens defended the use of troopers to cart House and Senate members to work Monday in the middle of a commuting nightmare. Without helping out, the constitutionally mandated start of the General Assembly session might have been delayed, he said.
“They have to have a quorum, which is 50 percent in each house plus one. In order to accomplish that, somebody had to bring them in,” he said.
Hitchens said GSP troopers already were assigned to provide security for Monday’s canceled inaugural activities. Those troopers were just reassigned to chauffer lawmakers to the Capitol, he said.
“We already had arrangements worked out with local law enforcement officers to handle emergency calls anyway,” he said.
The National Guard stepped in to help coordinate emergency help Tuesday.
Maj. Gen. William “Terry” Nesbitt, adjutant general of the Georgia National Guard, said the guard has mainly assisted with “mobility issues,” essentially ferrying around other state workers who got stuck in the snow and ice. While the guard has a lot of heavy equipment, Nesbitt said it does not have the kind needed to combat a winter storm.
“The guard has very limited amount of the type of equipment that is needed to clear the roadways,” he said.
The state's response began Sunday when then-Gov. Sonny Perdue signed his last executive order declaring a state of emergency. GEMA then began implementing the state’s emergency operations plan.
The state operations center, located at GEMA headquarters in southeast Atlanta, opened and was staffed by GEMA officials, and emergency coordinators of various state agencies and utility companies. GEMA operates largely in a passive role: When local governments or state agencies ask for help, GEMA works to provide it by mobilizing whatever agency or unit is needed.
GEMA spokesman Ken Davis said there have been "remarkably" few requests. Rockdale and Douglas counties both asked for help spreading sand on icy roads and the Department of Public Safety requested four-wheel drive Hummers to assist in transportation needs.
Often in an ice storm power outages caused by falling tree limbs are a major challenge. But so far powerlines have withstood Georgia's latest winter storm, making the need for emergency response less urgent than in previous storms that have caused massive power disruption and property damage.
GEMA spokesman Ken Davis said GEMA’s role is to coordinate emergency support functions and to respond to requests for assistance from local governments and stage agencies.
“We maintain an open line of communications with communities and counties to provide assistance,” Davis said. “We’ve been pretty fortunate, I think, as strange as that might sound in terms of this particular winter storm," Davis said.
"We were sort of anxious as to see what would be the impact of the ice overnight statewide on trees and limbs falling on to power lines and power poles snapping.”
But Davis said power outages as a result of the storm “are relatively light.”
Outages have varied from a low of about 1,000 to a high Monday of about 4,700.
“The numbers being reported by Georgia Power and the EMCs basically mirror a normal day,” he said.
What’s not normal, however, are conditions on the roads.
Cities are responsible for their own streets, as are counties. The state is responsible for interstates and major highways. But, the governor’s declaration of an emergency allows the state to assist those local governments who need it.
“We’re coordinating with local governments and other state agencies wherever they see problems that either overwhelm state capabilities or local capabilities and we’re coordinating those requests,” Davis said.
Still, he said GEMA has not received “a terribly large number” of requests.
“The big issue that I’ve seen is local and DOT efforts with salting, sanding, de-icing roadways,” he said.
The storm hit right as Georgia was transitioning from one governor to the next as Perdue turned over power to Deal on Monday afternoon. But Davis said the transition from one administration to the next has “been seamless.”
“Both then-Governor Perdue and Governor-elect Deal were apprised of the forecast last week and into the weekend,” Davis said. “There was consultation with Governor Perdue and Governor-elect Deal in terms of the state of emergency issued Monday,” Davis said.
Deal, meanwhile, has so far not asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to step in, said a FEMA spokeswoman.
"FEMA is closely monitoring the situation. We have been since Saturday, when the storm entered into the southeastern region," said Mary Hudak(cq), a FEMA spokeswoman. "We have been in close contact with each one of the states and they have been able to manage the response to any emergency situation that they have had."
Staff writers Jeremy Redmon, Chris Joyner and Jim Galloway contributed to this report.
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