WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Governor Kathy Hochul says she and other state officials have been in constant communication with north country leaders during the snowstorm.
In a phone interview with 7 News, Hochul said, “We want to make sure if there’s anything they need, whatever it is, we can respond quickly. We’re calling the different towns, municipalities, the cities. If they ask, the answer is yes.”
The state has sent resources to the north country, including plow operators and equipment operator instructors.
“We’re keeping an eye on power outages, making sure people get the power restored as soon as possible. I’m from Buffalo. I’m not from Watertown, but I know how to handle snow and it’s all about being ready on the forefront before the first flakes come down, and also counting on the local residents to adhere to our request to stay off the roads, hunker down. Hopefully, everyone got their groceries and gasoline and batteries in advance so they don’t have any reason to be on the roads. That’s how we’ll get through this,” she said.
Hochul issued a state of emergency Thursday morning for 11 counties in upstate New York, including Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.
“Mother Nature is wildly unpredictable, but we knew something was coming. We knew there’d be a severe, major storm event. Getting the word out to people to stay off the roads was really, really important to us,” said Hochul.
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