Kentucky National Guard soldiers are firing up Humvees to make emergency medical runs and rescue motorists stranded by a winter storm that has dumped up to 20 inches of snow in parts of the state.
Kentucky Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Kirk Hilbrecht says more than 75 guardsmen have been dispatched for emergency missions since the storm hit.
Hilbrecht said Thursday the Guard has helped rescue stranded motorists along Interstate 65 and the Western Kentucky Parkway in the Elizabethtown area. Stranded motorists are being taken to a warming center in Elizabethtown.
He says guardsmen are also picking up stranded motorists along I-24 in the Paducah area in western Kentucky.
In Marshall and Hardin counties, guardsmen are helping transport emergency personnel and medical patients.
Gov. Steve Beshear has declared a state of emergency.
