FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – The Allen County Office of Homeland Security issued a travel advisory for Allen County Thursday.

Bernie Beier, director of the Allen County Office of Homeland Security expects travel conditions to worsen by 8:00 p.m. Thursday. Beier said he and his team his team have prepared for the storms and they are coordinating between counties, shelter, and the social service agency.

“The governor has given us access to the national guard, we’ve got troops and airmen that are available to help us if we need it, and some of their vehicles to get some stranded motorists on the highway between places,” Beier said.

Beier says they also have extra blankets, help and warming centers available to the public if needed. If certain areas lose power, Beier says residents should expect extended outages because there are many factors to consider when trying to gauge when power will return.

“The crews can’t be up in the buckets in high winds over 40 miles an hour” Beier said. “The bitterly cold wind chills are going to limit to 15 to 30 minutes before you got to come back in and warm up in the truck, rotate crews, all those things. Crews coming in from other states. So it just slows down the restoration process, on top of whatever might’ve caused it.”

Beier says that the bitter cold is going to last until Sunday. After that, it will be safest for crews to work.

The Allen County Office of Homeland Security says the Rescue Mission located at 404 E. Washington Boulevard will be the place to report to if you’re in need of a warm place to go. If extra space is needed, Beier says they have community partners ready to step in and help as well.