ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — During a press conference Friday at Chestnut Ridge Park, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said that the county is ready for another winter in Western New York.
"We're prepared we're prepared for whatever mother nature throws at us," he said, "We know with climate change we're gonna be dealing with more of these because we've had more blizzards just in the last less than 10 years."
The county announced new equipment joining its winter-weather response fleet:
- Two Pisten Bully trucks, which can hold up to 10 people
- Five new snow plows
- UTV tracked vehicles for the sheriff's office
"We learned last year during the blizzard that it's important to have all of our possible fleet at the ready so to speak and that's what we've done," Poloncarz said.
Deputy Commissioner of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Greg Butcher said crews have taken the time to do extensive training for manning this equipment.
"Be reassured that we are prepared and are hoping that we don't have to use this equipment but know we are capable of taking care of that," Butcher said.
The county also acknowledged that better communication is crucial moving forward. Commissioner of Public Works, Bill Geary, said it's a lesson learned after last year's blizzard.
"Messaging is gonna be huge because messaging and communication is going to be more important than any piece of equipment we have," he said.
New this year, the county will be using IPAWS which is an alert system sent to your phone, similar to an Amber Alert.
"Those messages will be coordinated with the City of Buffalo and they will be used in extreme emergency-type situations," Geary explained.
Unlike the City of Buffalo, the county is not required by law to share a new snow plan every year. Geary said they have multiple plans in place.
"We've been redeveloping our plans trying to make that shift from plans that were probably written 10,15 years ago that we know these events have become more frequent," he said.
