Southwest Louisiana Winter Storm Updates
UPDATED: February 18 at 4:31pm
Check this page often, as we'll have all the latest updates here. Also, be sure to visit Louisiana First Alert for all storm-related content.
The City of Lake Charles has announced all offices and services, including transit, will be closed Friday, February 19.
Garbage collection for cart contents only will resume on February 18, with Tuesday routes on Friday, and Thursday-Friday routes on Saturday, with a makeup pass Monday for any missed collections.
Mayor Nic Hunter held a press conference with the City of Lake Charles at 11:00am this morning to update residents on the current status of water in the city. The city has partnered with United Way and Second Harvest to bring a bottled water distribution operation to the north side of the Lake Charles Civic Center beginning at 1:00pm today while supplies last.
The Calcasieu Parish School Board has announced all campuses and facilities will remain closed through Friday, February 19. Allen, Beauregard, Jeff Davis, and Vernon Parish schools are also closed Friday, along with McNeese University.
Temperatures are above freezing for Lake Charles and Sulphur this morning, while areas to the north are still below freezing and are under threat of possible freezing rain.
Entergy has again asked residents to limit power consumption to prevent additional rolling blackouts. Whether or not this is a prelude to additional outages like those we experienced Monday remains to be seen.
Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter and Utilities Division Manager Kevin Heise provided an update on the water situation in Lake Charles. We are currently under a boil advisory as the city's water facilities are strained due to water use, leaks, running faucets, and burst pipes. He asked that all area residents conserve water use and stop dripping faucets for the time being.
Additionally, Mayor Hunter shared a statement from Entergy regarding rolling blackouts.