Paris mayor signs winter weather disaster declaration

Days after Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide disaster declaration due to severe winter weather, Paris Mayor Steven Clifford has done the same for the city.

After days of historical record lows, life threateningly low wind chills and snowfall, Clifford on Tuesday signed the local disaster declaration, which acknowledges the city's electrical grid and other infrastructure has been strained by the winter weather. The declaration also states that power outages, which include unexpected outages and rolling or controlled blackouts ordered by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, have affected the Paris's water supply.

A power loss Monday at Paris's water ground storage facility prevented the city from filling its overhead storage tanks for an extended period of time, and that left portions of the city to experience low water pressure and in some cases no water at all, city officials said in a Facebook post. Although the power was restored and water pressure returned to normal, officials asked residents to practice water conservation measures.

Abbott issued his statewide disaster declaration for all 254 counties on Friday as he implored Texans to stay home and off the state's ice-covered and snow-packed roads. The governor asked for a federal declaration, which President Joseph Biden issued Sunday.