The City of San Antonio released the following information today at 12:24 p.m.:
City of San Antonio, Bexar County, CPS Energy, SAWS and VIA Share Coordinated Winter Weather Updates The San Antonio area remains under a Winter Storm Warning. The areas of the city that had the greatest impacts are to the north and northwest. Additional rounds of freezing rain and light sleet are possible throughout the day. According to the National Weather Service, the possibility of additional freezing rain is possible over Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.
Residents should monitor local weather forecasts and reports. Use extreme caution if you must be on the road in these conditions.
The City, County and partners strongly urge all residents to remember the Four Ps:
People, Pets, Plants & Pipes.
PEOPLE
Keep warm and dress in layers. Check on family, friends and neighbors who may be more vulnerable to this week’s cold weather or may not have access to housing and heating, including the elderly and those with special needs.
San Antonio Fire Department recommends:
· Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove or portable space heater.
· Never use your oven to heat your home.
· Never use a generator indoors.
· Always plug portable heaters directly into a wall socket (no power strips).
· Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
· Never leave children unattended in a room with a space heater.
· Install and maintain carbon monoxide alarms to avoid the risk of poisoning.
· Test smoke alarms at least once a month.
UNSHELTERED INDIVIDUALS
The Homeless Connections Hotline is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at 210-207-1799 for shelter resource information. Haven for Hope offers safe, indoor sleeping accessible at all hours. Other providers including Christian Assistance Ministry, SAMMinistries, Communities Under the Bridge (CUB) and Corazon Ministries are in regular communication with the Department of Human Services to ensure street outreach coverage across the city and to share resource information.
PETS
Pets should be brought indoors and provided with a warm place to sleep. Farm animals and livestock also rely on their humans to protect them and keep them safe. Have adequate food and water. Animals need to eat more in cold weather to provide extra calories for heat energy. During extremely cold temperatures, water will freeze. You will need to break up ice or replace the frozen water with fresh water.
State law dictates dogs cannot be tethered with any size chain at any time; it also states dogs cannot be left outdoors restrained and unattended in the case of officially defined extreme weather or situations in which an animal is in severe distress including conditions in which the outdoor temperature is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
Animal Care Service Officers will be on patrol in the community. Potential violators can face impoundment of their pet, fines up to $2,000 and 180 days in jail for repeat offenders. To report suspected violations, call 311 (210-207-6000).
Animal Care Services has received 317 neglect calls related to the winter storm event. (an average day is less than a hundred).
PLANTS
Plants should be covered or brought inside to avoid frost damage.
SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM
Information on how to protect your home and property when temperatures dip below freezing is available in English at saws.org/BeReady or Spanish at saws.org/Preparate.
SAWS is not experiencing any weather-related challenges or outages as a result of current weather conditions.
As always, water and sewer emergencies can be reported 24/7 by calling 210-704-7297. Other SAWS services are continuing as usual.
311
311 Customer Service is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, and until 11 p.m. by pressing option 1 to report any urgent weather or animal related concerns. Residents may call 311 (210-207-6000) or use the 311 SA mobile app.
RENTAL PROPERTY TIPS
Landlords are obligated to maintain their rental properties to the minimum standards set by the San Antonio Property Maintenance Code (Sec 6-52). Heating equipment must be able to maintain a minimum inside temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit (measured three feet above the floor). To report suspected violations, call 311 (210-207-6000).
PARKS
All outdoor activities including Fitness in the Park are canceled today. Park Parking lots that are closed due to fallen trees include: Eisenhower Park, Crownridge Park, Canyon Park and Friedrich Wilderness Park.
METRO HEALTH
The Metro Health STD evening clinic located at 512 E. Highland Blvd. will be closed today.
CPS ENERGY
CPS Energy crews and contract crews are actively working to restore outages caused by the widespread ice storm that entered the service area overnight. Primary cause of outages has been ice related that has impacted wires and is accumulating on trees causing them to weigh down on wires and poles. At peak, 45,000 customers experienced an outage. As of 11:30 a.m. there are 128 outages impacting 16,068 customers. There are currently 42 downed wires that crews are responding to.
Due to weather conditions, outages could occur throughout the day and possibly into Thursday morning before temperatures begin to rise Thursday afternoon. Customers are asked to be prepared with emergency plans and relocate safely, if needed and experiencing an extended outage, especially if using medical equipment.
The weight of ice on tree branches and power lines can lead to pole fires and downed lines and CPS Energy reminds customers to not approach a downed line and to treat them as live. Do NOT attempt to move or drive over the power lines and report them at 210-353-4357 (HELP).
Customer service centers are closed today. Customers can access their account information and update their contact preferences 24/7 through Manage My Account.
To stay up to date with the latest outage information, visit CPS Energy’s outage map at cpsenergy.com/outage and follow the utility’s social media channels. For winter preparedness tips, including power outage tips and generator safety info and a video, visit cpsenergy.com/prepare (English) and cpsenergy.com/preparar (Spanish).
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
All Solid Waste Management services are fully operational. This includes curbside collections of trash (brown cart), recycling (blue cart) and organics (green cart) as well as the brush, bulky items and household hazardous waste drop-off centers. Customers collection days and the locations and hours of operation for the drop-off centers can be found at SArecycles.org.
Customers are reminded to have their carts placed out by 7 a.m. Wheels must face the curb and carts should not be overstuffed – the lids must close completely. Due to the weather conditions, some collection trucks may be behind their regular schedule. Customers should wait until after 5 p.m. to report to 311 (210-207-6000) if they believe their cart was missed.
ROADS
San Antonio Public Works is monitoring City streets and bridges for icy conditions and is treating locations as needed.
Four lower water crossing locations are barricaded and closed. Please avoid:
· Old O’Connor @ Lookout
· Locke Hill @ White Bonnet
· Maltsberger lane from Country Parkway to 281 access road
· Southwell Road/Verbena to Encino Park
For more information, visit BexarFlood.org.
VIA
VIA Metropolitan Transit Offices and Transit Centers will remain open for regular business hours and bus, VIAtrans, and VIA Link services will continue to operate if it is safe to do so. There are no planned service disruptions at this time. However, road conditions could be affected as this weather event develops, resulting in possible service and scheduling delays or detours. Route detours and schedule adjustments due to severe weather will be announced on VIAinfo.net, VIA’s social media channels, and through local media. For more information, residents can also call the VIA goLine at 210-362-2020.
BEXAR COUNTY
Today, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, all Bexar County offices and courts are closed for a second day due to the continuation of inclement weather.
Bexar County Public Works
Bexar County Public Works has implemented a 24-hour rotation of crews and staff until further notice. Using chainsaws, pole saws, loaders/backhoes, and chipper trucks crews assisted with tree and debris removal at four different locations this morning.
As of this morning, six tons of chat rock have been distributed and more than 1,100 gallons of natural de-icing agent have been dispersed across unincorporated Bexar County.
Bexar County Public Works department is utilizing GEOMELT S8, an environmentally friendly mixture that contains 20% de-sugared beet juice derivative effective for preventing roadway icing, as well as treating iced-over areas.
Crews coordinated with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and pre-positioned barricades at 11 locations in unincorporated Bexar County.
Bexar County Parks
County Parks are closed today. They will open up tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, at 9 a.m. Raymond Russell and Bullis County Parks will open at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
Bexar County Courts & Jury Service
Residents affected by the closure of all Bexar County courts are asked to call their respective courtroom once Bexar County offices reopen to discuss rescheduling as necessary.
Please contact the Jury Services department when Bexar County offices reopen to discuss your schedule. Their contact information may be found at Bexar.org
Tax Assessor Collector’s Office
The Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector announced that the property tax payment deadline has been extended until Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Residents can still make payments online at Bexar.org/tax , by phone at 1-888-852-3572, drop off their payment in the drop boxes at any of the Tax Collector-Assessors’ four office locations, or once offices reopen.
AIRPORT
The San Antonio Airport has had several flight delays and cancelations due to weather in other cities. San Antonio International Airport (SAT) offers the following tips:
· Check flight status with airlines before heading to the airport to make sure your flight has not been delayed or cancelled.
· Monitor social platforms for updates and visit FlySanAntonio.com
· SAT’s social:
· Arrive at least two hours before flight boarding time.
· Print/download boarding passes early.
RESOURCES
- For the latest forecast from visit National Weather Service
- Sign up for emergency notifications on the San Antonio Emergency website
- Download a Winter Preparedness Guide and plan today at SanAntonio.gov
- For information on roadway conditions, visit Drive Texas™ or call 800-452-9292
- For travel planning and other tips, visit TxDOT Safety Guide for Winter Travel
- SAWS media materials available for download
- Fire safety information is available at FireSafeSA.com
Please share these resources to friend, family and anyone in the San Antonio/Bexar County Area.
