By Cass Rains
Staff Writer
Area law enforcement officials are discouraging travel as roads and highways are icing over and emergency responders are called to more and more traffic accidents.
“The Enid Police Department is experiencing a large volume of vehicle accident reports in the Enid and Garfield County areas,” said Lt. Eric Holtzclaw. “The police department is discouraging travel at this time, unless absolutely necessary.”
Police are advising those who must travel to plan accordingly and allow “ample” space between vehicles and time for travel, the lieutenant said.
“Motorists are encouraged to call 911 if they are involved in a vehicle accident,” Holtzclaw said. “We are asking the public to be patient as we are handling all calls as quick as possible and in priority order.”
Road crews have been alerted and are starting to apply sand and salt to the roadways.
According to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, roads and highways in Garfield, Alfalfa, Blaine, Grant, Kingfisher and Woods counties are “slick and hazardous.”
The northwest third of the state remains under a winter weather advisory. A high of 25 degrees is predicted for the afternoon, with a low of 20 degrees, a 70 percent chance of freezing rain and winds of up to 21 mph forecast for tonight.
Enid Public Schools will finish the day at normal times, said Amber Graham Fitzgerald, Enid Public Schools spokeswoman.
She said buses will run at their regular time but delays could result from drivers slowing down due to road conditions.
About 1:30 p.m., Governor Brad Henry issued a state of emergency for all 77 Oklahoma counties.
The order is a first step toward seeking federal disaster aid, if needed, and would allow state agencies to make emergency purchases and acquisitions of resources as needed to speed up delivery to local jurisdictions.
