Dallas County (Texas) Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins, the equivalent of a county manager and the highest county officer, posted a Facebook announcement to tell residents that they should consider taking in neighbors who still did not have power due to a major winter storm that swept through the area.
Thousands of residents in the Dallas area have been without power since early Monday morning when the private company responsible for operating the power grid in Texas, Oncor, initiated rolling blackouts. The blackouts were only supposed to be for 45 minutes, but some have been without power since they started, and news reports detail people saying the temperatures in their homes have plummeted to 30 degrees or lower.
“Oncor informs me that the attempts to restart the rolling blackouts from affected neighborhoods to those that are currently with power have been unsuccessful due to the status of the grid,” Jenkins posted. “If you have power, please consider taking in those without power before dark.”
The fiercely independent Texans, who have resisted calls to wear masks to protect their family, friends and neighbors during the coronavirus pandemic, have not yet taken to the streets to protest this recommendation. It is unknown if they are planning protests denying climate change or if they still doubt the science of hypothermia.