Two pieces of advice came up repeatedly at the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury severe weather briefing: stay off the roadways, and to prevent pipes from bursting, drip faucets, don’t run them at a steady stream.

The Arctic air mass that’s been monitored by the National Weather Service will likely push through on Monday, according to Warning Coordination Meteorologist Doug Cramer of the National Weather Service Lake Charles office.

“Unfortunately, later on Monday night, and especially Tuesday, there will be some precipitation that begins to develop within that air mass,” he told the Parish Executive Policy Group on Friday. Temperatures are expected to fall below freezing Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights. A minor snow event across much of Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana is also expected.

With conditions that don’t happen often in Southwest Louisiana, emergency responders, law enforcement, administrative department heads and elected officials have been watching the weather. They’re ready with a plan, and they want the community to prepare, as well.

Jarod Maze, director of the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said the parish public works and engineering department will monitor parish bridge and road conditions.

“Starting Monday afternoon, they will start spreading sand on the parish bridges,” Maze said, “and they will continue to monitor and reapply.

Municipal water systems and water districts will monitor water conditions to limit disruptions. Residents, especially those with houses on piers, are asked to insulate pipes and drip instead of running a steady stream of water. This will prevent pipes from freezing and help systems retain water pressure, especially crucial for medical services and fire fighters..Plus, dripping instead of running water could keep water levels safe. When levels fall, a boil advisory must be issued.

Interstate bridges 

On Sunday evening Department of Transportation and Development crews will begin to put down pre-treatment materials on the interstate system, as well as other routes, according to Seth Woods, District 07 administrator. The department also has equipment ready to remove snow to prevent it from melting and refreezing and causing issues on the roadway. Woods said U.S. 171, U.S. 190 and U.S. 165 will also be treated, as well as other elevated bridges, if conditions allow.

“These are secondary,” he said. “We are going to focus primarily on our interstate system and our U.S. routes.”

Woods said the department will work with local police and state police. Lines of communication will stay open to help prioritize efforts. He also advised keeping blankets and other supplies in vehicles.

“If you don’t have to be on the roadways, don’t get on the roadways,” Woods said, “and that way State Police and others are not working accidents.”

The public can use the 511 website for DOTD updates during all weather conditions.

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Stitch Guillory reiterated the warning to stay off roads. He also made a special appeal to parents to keep teens, who are less experienced drivers, off the road Monday, especially after 9 p.m.

“In situations like this, you never know when somebody is going to hit a patch of ice and cause a major accident,” he said.

Utilities

Customer Service Manager Lorena Ceasar said Entergy has crews on both sides of the bridge ready to respond, as well as additional crews in the area, but restoring power in freezing temps is a process.

“Because everyone would have their heaters on, probably full blast, to prevent any further damage to the line, we will restore a section at a time. Once those are on, we will go to the next section.”

Caesar said not to go near a downed power line because it can be difficult to determine whether it is live or dead. Call 1-809-outage to report it and power outages.

General Manger Mike Viator said Beauregard Electric was able to analyze its system during the last below-freezing event. Some switching has been done to balance loads, and they have looked at the relay settings and made adjustments.

Look in on elderly, use caution with electric heaters

Parish administrator Bryan Beam noted the importance of checking on elderly family members and neighbors, as well as using caution with electric heaters.

Electric heaters are a leading cause of home fires. Place three feet away from curtains, blankets, books, papers and other flammables. Even walls can get too hot. Avoid wet or typically humid spaces like bathrooms. Avoid power strips and extension cords. Plug directly into the wall. Unplug heaters when not in use. Do not run units overnight.

211 help, warming centers and LC bus schedule

Sulphur Christian Community Coalition, 501 E. Burton St. in Sulphur and Waters Edge Church, 2760 Power Center Parkway in Lake Charles, will have warming centers. The Salvation Army, 3020 Legion St., will only accept men.

The city of Lake Charles will provide transportation 1-5 p.m. Sunday and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday to the Waters Edge.

“We encourage you to take advantage of these windows,” said Mayor Nic Hunter, “because like other vehicles, if the conditions do not allow, we will not be able to have our buses on the road on Tuesday, possibly even into Wednesday, depending on what the weather conditions are.”

Locations will be released on Facebook and the city’s website. They are McDonalds on Ryan Street, across from McNeese State University; Wal-Mart on Ryan St.,; 5th Ave and Emerald Point;  SWLA Center for Health Services on Opelousas Street; Martin Luther King Jr. Center located at North Simmons Street/Fiztenreiter Road; Prater/Harless Street; Chateau du Lac located at Ryan/Mill Street; Mill and Goos Streets; Abrahams Tent on Fruge Street; McDonalds on Broad Street; Salvation Army on Legion Street; Second Avenue at Golden Arms Apartments; Wal-Mart on Hwy 14; 5th Avenue and College Street; Wal-Mart on Nelson Road; 18th Street near Dollar Tree and Wal-Mart on Ryan Street.

Residents unable to reach one of these locations, but in need of transportation to the warming center or other human services needs, should dial 211.

School closings

Beauregard and Calcasieu Parish schools are closed Monday for MLK Day.

Beauregard Parish students will have virtual instruction Tuesday and all BPSB facilities will be closed. An email from the executive assistant to the superintendent says “stay tuned to the local media outlets and monitor the BPSB website and Facebook page for an announcement by 1 p.m. concerning Wednesday, Jan. 22.”

All Calcasieu Parish School Bard schools and facilities will be closed Tuesday. An update will be provided to families as to the status of school on Wednesday by Tuesday at 5 p.m. An email from Holly Holland, public information officer, advises residents to “stay tuned to CPSB’s website, social media channels, and local media outlets in the coming days.”

McNeese will move to online course delivery and remote work on Tuesday due to hazardous weather conditions forecasted to move into the area next week.

Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to monitor their McNeese email, the website and official social media channels as well as local news outlets for further updates.