Photo of DFD fueling up on S. Candler Rd earlier today courtesy of Jon

The Decatur Fire Department is prepping for the coming ice storm (see photo above) and the city wants to make sure you’re ready as well…

Conditions as of this posting remain above freezing in the City of Decatur, but the temperature is expected to drop late tonight. There is a serious threat of accumulation of ice on trees and power lines tonight and tomorrow, and this combined with expected heavy winds could result in power outages.

As a precaution, please go ahead and fully charge cell phones and medical devices now. If the power does go out, contact Georgia Power at  to report the outage. Georgia Power has crews pre-staged in the area to respond to any losses of power. Please only call 911 in the event of a life-threatening emergency, not simply to report a power outage. You may also call the Decatur Police non-emergency number if you require public safety assistance: .

If there is a loss of power, the city may use the CodeRED Emergency Notification System to communicate with the community. Please take this opportunity before a power outage occurs to register your phone number here.

About CodeRED:

CodeRED Emergency Notification System is a telephone communication service that allows us to quickly notify citizens of emergency situations requiring immediate action.

All residential phone numbers in the BellSouth/AT&T system should be in the telephone database. All city of Decatur businesses should register, as well as individuals who have unlisted phone numbers, who have changed their phone number or address within the last year, and who use a cellular phone as their primary home phone.

The system can dial up to 50,000 phone numbers per hour and deliver a recorded message to individuals or their answering machines.

Decatur Municipal Court is cancelled for tonight. Please call to reschedule your hearing for a future date.

Most city offices will be closed tomorrow (Wed., Feb. 12), and City Hall will operate with a limited staff. As of this posting, City Hall is expected to open at noon on Thursday, Feb. 13. Continue to check TheDecaturMinute.com for the latest weather updates and city closings.

Decaturkj sends in this pic of a very large turtle spotted by the creek at Oakview and South McDonough.  KJ says that it looked as if the turtle was digging a nest.

Allison writes in…

Just a bit of news from the ecotone: I just watched a pair of coyotes trot down the street past my house.

Decatur folks should watch out for their small critters. They are back.