Dallas officials report shelters, street treatment and emergency services running during winter storm

Kevin Oden, director of Emergency Management and Crisis Response, told reporters the city’s emergency teams remain mobilized after this week’s winter storm, with three priorities: deploy resources promptly, ensure resident safety and provide timely public information.

"Our teams have demonstrated exceptional dedication," Oden said, praising the mayor, city council and city manager for support and highlighting coordinated work across departments. He said transportation and public works crews are treating roughly 4,000 lane miles of roadway through 24-hour operations to maintain mobility.

The Office of Homeless Solutions reported that shelters were serving a combined total of 1,252 people as of 10 p.m. last night, with Fair Park Grand Place housing 698 people, the Tower Building 240 and Austin Street Center 314. Christine Crosley of the Office of Homeless Solutions said the shelters were also caring for animals "including four cats, nine dogs and one python," and that transportation zones and schedules are posted on the city website; inclement-shelter activation status will be posted at 4 a.m. daily.

Daniel Roby, CEO and president of Austin Street Center, said donation and volunteer needs remain high and provided logistics for giving: donations can be dropped off at Austin Street Center, 1717 Jeffrey Street (ZIP 75226), 9 a.m.–5 p.m. daily, and volunteer sign-up information is available at austinstreet.org.

Sanitation crews resumed Thursday garbage and recycling routes at 10 a.m. and will continue catching up service as neighborhood street conditions permit, Cliff Gillespie, director of Sanitation, said. "Our crews are working hard to catch up on service after the disruptions caused by the weather," he said.

Public-safety officials said overall response has been stable. Major Jordan Colunga of Dallas Police said the department has seen no significant weather-related impacts to police response and has three blocker trucks ready for any highway incidents. Interim Assistant Chief Scott Pago of Dallas Fire Rescue said cold-weather plans and staffing remain in place to support transport and medical needs for sheltering operations.

Daisy Fast, director of Communications and Customer Experience (which includes 311), said Dallas 311 is operating 24/7 and call volumes are manageable; agents are answering on average within eight seconds. "Callers are not experiencing any hold times right now," she said.

Oden said the Emergency Operations Center will remain open through the day and a decision on demobilization will be made tonight, with continued attention to roadway conditions and to ensuring safe access for Cotton Bowl attendees. The city asked residents to follow official channels at dallascitynews.net and dallas.gov for the latest updates.