Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has authorized the National Guard to call up to 300 soldiers, airmen and members of the Virginia Defense Force for potential assistance in severe winter weather response operations.
The Virginia Guard planned last night to stage about 125 personnel at readiness centers along the Interstate 81 corridor and in the central Virginia area along Route 29, I-64 and I-95 to be ready to respond if needed, officials said.
McAuliffe declared a state of emergency yesterday afternoon, an action that authorized the state active duty and also allows state agencies to assist local governments in responding to the winter storm expected to cover many parts of the state with 3 to 14 inches of snow. About 200 soldiers and airmen were active during snowstorms in Arkansas, North Carolina and Virginia over the weekend.
Potential for Various Missions
Potential missions for the Virginia Guard and Virginia Defense Force include assisting stranded motorists, transportation of health care professionals and the seriously ill to medical treatment facilities, transportation of personnel or equipment to potential heating or sheltering locations and downed tree removal, said Army Col. James Zollar, director of joint operations for the Virginia Guard.
“Getting our personnel staged and ready at key locations before the severe weather hits is critical to our ability to rapidly respond when needed,” he said.
The Virginia National Guard receives its missions through the Virginia Department of Emergency Management to assist the Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Transportation and other state and local emergency response organizations and is not able to respond to direct support requests from the public, Zollar said.
Meanwhile, in hard-hit Massachusetts, about 500 National Guard personnel are on duty, joined by nearly 40 from Vermont and about 50 from Maine.
National Guard Bureau officials said they have removed 2,145 truckloads of snow and have cleared more than 78,000 cubic yards of snow and more than 4,900 fire hydrants. Guard units also cleared more than 152 miles of road of record-breaking snowfall.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Steve Marshall of the National Guard Bureau contributed to this report.)
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