SUPERIOR — December's windstorm caught Mineral County off guard with extended power outages. But with another storm on the horizon, officials are taking extra steps to prepare.
"We're looking at being ready and not caught off guard. So we've posted on our social media, I've sent out emails to dispatch, detention, and the deputies to have their cars ready, their cars fueled up and ready, in case we have another power outage or an extended power outage," said Mineral County Sheriff Ryan Funke.
The Mineral County Sheriff’s Office and emergency management officials are preparing for what the storm might bring.
They’re mainly preparing for extended power outages.
"If it's all over the state, we may not get you know, the response from the NorthWestern Energy and everybody else that we got to help us get our power back, I mean, it could be a week, two weeks," Sheriff Funke said.
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Businesses in the area are also preparing to avoid a repeat of what happened during the last storm in December.
"The last one kind of prepared the town. Because being a business owner, we saw it hurt the town a lot and it wasn't just the three, four days it was out. It was after. Because these people don't usually have to leave town to, you know, get their stuff and now they're paying for meals out. They're paying for that gas. They're not having the power, so they're having to pay for wood because they don't have wood prepared. I think some people are more prepared," said Aurora Seidel, owner of NFB Espresso & Flowers.
Officials are asking residents to prepare by stocking up on food, fuel and water in case of an extended power outage.
They are also asking people to check on their neighbors before the storm hits.
