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Frustrations continue to thaw after ice froze local life last week.
Winter Storm Mara blew through Bastrop County and much of the U.S. last Tuesday through Friday, Jan. 31-Feb. 3. Power outages, icy roads, freezing rain and temperatures, and downed trees forced closures and kept residents home as they waited for safe travel conditions and places to reopen. A disaster declaration was issued in Elgin Monday, Feb. 6.
“The city of Elgin, Texas, is facing significant threats to life, health and property caused by fire, falling trees, tree limbs, downed power lines and utility poles,” said McShan in a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott. “The potential impact of this threat to citizens and businesses is the continued suffering of financial hardship and loss due to blocked roadways, loss of utility services (electrical and internet) and rotted food stores.
As of Monday, Elgin street crews continued to assess and clean streets of debris. Alleys were also being evaluated for garbage truck passage.
“Parks crews met with the Texas A&M Forrest Service (Monday), and the Forrest service has made a commitment to help fall dangerous trees in the park. This service was requested for fourdays from the office of emergency management,” added Amy Miller, Elgin director of community services. “We are very thankful for their help in getting the parks open again. Use extreme caution while waking outdoors. At this time, the city is recommending avoiding the parks until further notice.”
Fallen trees were one factor in localized power outages that darkened Bastrop County for days. Gov. Abbott emphasized that ERCOT’s state power grid was not a factor, unlike during Winter Storm Uri in 2021. Outages last week were said to stem from other issues such as ice accumulating on tree branches and power lines, blown transformers and other problems. Schools like Elgin Independent School District had to close campuses for several days.
“We had power and internet connectivity outages at several campuses, as well as downed trees at campuses and district offices,” said Marcial Guajardo, Elgin ISD communications coordinator.“We’ll count our blessings, as we know others are coping with much worse than what we saw, but the clean-up continues here as well. We’re happy to have our students back.”
The Elgin Recreation Center and Elgin Public Library were opened at various times Feb. 2-5 for services such as free coffee, Wi-Fi and charging stations. McShan addressed social media comments that asked why the Recreation Center wasn’t used as a warming shelter.
“City staff were monitoring the conditions of the roads the status of electrical outages and did not receive any calls from citizens stating that they needed shelter,” said McShan.
The mayor acknowledged that the recreation center can open as an emergency shelter for residents displaced from homes.
“Regarding a warming shelter on Tuesday and Wednesday, the weather and the road conditions were such that it was safer to have people shelter at home than to try to travel,” added McShan. “Elgin is a community that takes care of neighbors I believe our neighbors watch out for each other and take care of each other and to that point, if there were citizens in danger they would have called someone for help. … There is always room for improvement, and we will be evaluating this event.”
Help and resources
Residents who sustained damage is encouraged to complete a survey from the Texas Department of Emergency Management. The survey is used to help state agencies determine the extent of damages and possible responses at the statewide level.
For other information including permit fee waivers, free curbside limb disposal and more, visit http://www.elgintexas.gov and click on “News / Emergency Updates.”
