ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) – Trees are down by the hundreds across Southwest Virginia in the wake of the recent winter storm.
Roanoke County fire and rescue crews have been working overtime the past two days, responding to more than 200 calls.
More than 130 of those have involved reports of downed trees and power lines in the road.
“We’re going to continue to have these tree down, wire down issues for a while, probably into the weekend, I’m anticipating,” said Roanoke County Fire and Rescue community outreach coordinator Brian Clingenpeel. “Hopefully we get a reprieve tomorrow, but I think we’re going to see this into Saturday and Sunday.”
With such a high volume of trees clogging up the roadways, it has been difficult for response crews to reach everything quickly.
“[Appalachian Power] is swamped right now. [Virginia Department of Transportation] is swamped right now,” said Clingenpeel. “Because sometimes these trees are not only taking wires down, but they’re also blocking roadways.”
VDOT has reported more than 500 fallen trees across its Salem district, primarily impacting Franklin, Floyd, Carroll, Montgomery, and Roanoke counties.
Several of those have issued ‘no travel advisories,’ for residents and Franklin County even declared a local state of emergency.
“We’re continuing to see downed trees and high volumes of calls into our 911 center,” said Franklin County director of tourism and marketing Kevin Tosh, cautioning locals not to drive around or through closed roads. “The roads are closed for a reason, and they will get them open as soon as possible.”
Many of the trees that have come down have both blocked roadways and cut power for nearby residents when they fall on top of power lines.
Even so, first responders say they will still get to anyone experiencing an emergency.
“If it’s a matter of getting an ambulance to you, we will get to you,” said Clingenpeel. “It might take us a little longer with trees down over the road but we will get to you.”
Officials are telling everyone to avoid any live wires or downed trees and ask anyone who sees a downed tree to report it to either Appalachian Power or VDOT.