Gov.
Bobby Jindal has declared a state of emergency due to cold weather conditions in Louisiana and across the country. The declaration allows for steps to be taken to ensure citizens here and in other states have ready access to propane and other heating fuels.
The declaration was made on Wednesday (Jan. 22) evening. It directs staff at the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, or GOHSEP, to take steps to mitigate "shortages and interruptions" in access to heating fuels here and elsewhere.
This includes temporarily suspending certain rules and regulations, such as those on truck operators that keep them from driving more than a certain number of hours. By easing these restrictions, operators can make their shipments of key needed heating fuels without breaking the rule on hourly limits.
"This is just making sure that we do everything that we can, with Louisiana being a key exporter and supplier of some of the fuels and propane, it's just making we do everything we can making sure the supplies don't get interrupted," said GOHSEP Director Mike Steele, adding, weather of this type "can be a life or death situation."
Steele also said GOHSEP has activated its Crisis Action Team to liaise through the cold snap with members of local governments. State offices in 22 parishes, including Ascension, West Baton Rouge, Iberville and Lafayette,
will remain closed Friday in anticipation of hazardous driving conditions and power outages.
A hard freeze watch
was issued Wednesday for areas north of Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas, including Baton Rouge and Slidell, through Friday morning. Temperatures are expected to fall into the lower to middle 20s in the I-12 cooridor, with lows in the upper 20s and lower 30s across southeast Louisiana.
