Lee County Government shares preparation tips for residents, highlights coordination efforts ahead of Winter Storm Gianna
“Everyone should have a plan to deal with very limited travel over the next several days,” Lee County Government shared via Facebook on Jan. 30. “Roads may become impassable for some period if the snow levels reach the amounts projected.”
Ahead of Winter Storm Gianna’s arrival and amid local closures, Lee County Emergency Management officials held a joint briefing, and Lee County Government updated the public on what to expect and how to respond to this weekend’s anticipated winter weather.
“Lee County Public Safety Officials are working with SCDOT to plan for clearing roads as soon as the weather permits,” the post continued. “SCDOT is pretreating the interstate and primary and secondary roads to help with the snow clearing process. This amount of snow will take several days of plowing roads to remove; however, as the snow melts ice will continue to be an issue on roadways into the early part of next week and will still make travel potentially dangerous.”
Advice to residents includes:
- Have a plan for very limited travel over the next several days;
- Prepare with basic supplies of food and medicine for several days;
- Take time to make sure your water pipes and outside water spigots are insulated; and
- Monitor weather updates and local government updates closely.
The joint meeting included representatives with the City of Bishopville, sheriff and police departments, S.C. Department of Transportation, Lee County Fire Department and EMS and other first responders, who discussed the weather forecast for the next several days and plans to coordinate preparation efforts. Attendees included Lee County Administrator Alan Watkins, Bishopville City Administrator John Douglas, Lee County Sheriff Daniel Simon, Bishopville Police Chief J.D. Dellinger, SCDOT Resident Engineer Jeffrey Wilkes, EMS Director Tim DuBose, Lee County Fire Chief Brandon Holloman, representatives with the Lee County Public Works Department and others.
As with Winter Storm Fern, closures have begun for Lee County:
- City of Bishopville offices will be closed Monday, Feb. 2. The Fall Festival Committee meeting planned for Feb. 2 is cancelled. Garbage customers normally served on Monday will be served on Tuesday, and customers served on Tuesday will be served on Wednesday if conditions permit.
- Lee County's Manned Trash/Recycling sites will be closed Saturday, Jan. 31, Sunday, Feb. 1, and Monday, Feb. 2, and will reopen on Wednesday, Feb. 4, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Lee County School District has designated Monday, Feb. 2, as an eLearning day for all students and staff members. All afterschool programs, field trips and extracurricular acitivites are canceled for Monday. "Because we are an approved eLearning district, this day will not have to be made up, and lessons and assignments will be posted in each teacher’s virtual classroom. Students who are unable to participate due to power outages, limited internet access, or other unforeseen barriers will be permitted to complete their eLearning assignments at a later time."
- Lee County Parks and Recreation basketball games scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 31, are canceled.
Lee County Government anticipates limited power outage issues could arise but nothing widespread based on current forecasts. Find further Lee County Government announcements on its Facebook. Further Lee County School District updates will come on their Facebook and website, https://www.leeschooldistrictsc.org/apps/news/.
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