Many residents in Kanawha County remain without power as crews work to clear roads and restore electricity following recent storms.
“We’ve got people that are sleeping in their cars because they don’t want to leave their pets,” said Loudendale VFD Chief William Eads.
Crews have been working nonstop to remove debris and reopen roadways. Eads noted, “We had an ambulance call earlier today and the ambulance couldn’t get to us easily because of the roadblocks that were in the way.”
Some areas were hit particularly hard. On Monday, crews removed around 35 fallen trees, though fewer toppled trees were reported on Tuesday.
Roadblocks continue to impact drivers, leaving some stranded for hours. Eads explained, “The tree fall has subsided a little bit. We’ve got some high winds still blowing around here. We get a little gust here and there, that kind of makes me panic because the trees aren’t going to take a lot with the amount of ice that are still on them.”
In addition to cleanup efforts, Eads and his 10-person team are providing free meals for anyone working or living in the area without easy access to food.
“We’ve ran some meals out to the folks that can’t get out to get a hot meal. We’re making sure we’ve got people some nourishment to help get through this cold,” he said.